Bella Swan? I'm Rosie Black!
by Daehnerys
Summary: Bella Swan is now Rosie Black, daughter to an escaped convict and best friends with a certain Potter. But when she returns to Hogwarts for her fifth year, it seems that Umbridge is the least of her problems in the place she calls home. Set in New Moon and Order of the Phoenix.
1. Chapter 1

**Bella Swan? I'm Rosie Black!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight.**

Chapter 1

As I looked into the mirror, it's weird to think of how different I looked. It's funny how everyone sees me as Bella Swan with my long, mahogany hair and chocolate brown eyes, and let's not forget the unnaturally pale skin.

My real form, however, was completely different.

My name is Rosie Black. The daughter of Sirius and Hannah Black, best friends with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. And a pure-blood witch. And the Girl-Who-Lived.

It's quite scary to think that I was there on that Halloween night with the Potters. It's even worse to think about how Lord Voldemort murdered my godparents, Lily and James Potter, and then proceeded to kill my own mother. And then, of course, he tried to kill Harry and I – who were in the same crib – and completely failed. He lost all his powers, weakened by our mothers' love for us.

So my father, discovering that his former best friend Peter Pettigrew had sold us out, went into a rage and got framed for murder. He ended up in Azkaban until I was thirteen, when he escaped. I'm so glad he's back now.

I stared into the mirror once again, before closing my eyes and focusing on my natural look. I felt the familiar feeling of an egg being cracked on my egg before opening my eyes and seeing my true self.

I loved being a Metamorphmagus.

I was relieved to see my long, curly blonde hair. I had missed it so much. And my eyes. So blue they were almost like violets. So my dad said, anyway. I may have my mother's hair, eyes, and Metamorphmagus abilities, but my features were all of my father's. The Black beauty, so people called it. Everyone in the family had the same pale skin, high cheekbones, aristocratic nose and heavy lidded eyes. It's amazing how good looking we all were despite the amount of inbreeding over the generations.

I looked down at my clothes in distaste, mentally reminding myself to put on my wizarding robes before I went back to Hogwarts.

Thank Merlin I'm leaving this place.

I had hated Forks as soon as I arrived with Charlie Swan, who was actually an ex-Auror and a good friend of Dumbledore's and was ordered to look after me. Thank Merlin we both know Occlumency, otherwise Edward would've known everything just by looking into our minds.

I sighed and looked out of the window. Edward left. Does that mean I should go back now? I really missed my dad. And my friends. Surely it wouldn't hurt?

Without even thinking more of it, I quickly took out some parchment and a quill from where it was hidden under my bed and started writing.

_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

_I know I was sent here for my own safety considering Voldemort returned last year (which is stupid by the way, considering Harry wasn't sent away as well), but I'm really bored and I miss everyone. I'm aware of how whiny I sound right now, but please Professor, I've missed everyone so much._

_Rosie Black._

I double checked the letter and ran downstairs quickly. I was planning on getting my owl, Midnight, to send it, but the journey would've taken at least two or three days.

"Charlie?" I said. He gave a grunt from the living room. "Can you please create a Portkey sending my letter to Dumbledore's office?

"Yeah, where is it?"

I walked into the living room and saw him pulling his wand out of his pocket. I handed him the letter and he muttered a quick "Portus!"

Not five seconds later, the letter vanished.

"Thank you!" I grinned, giving him a hug. "I'm going back home as soon as he sends a letter back.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "And what if he doesn't give his consent?"

I smirked. "I'll go home anyway."

"Just like your father," he chuckled. "You've still got an American accent, by the way."

He pointed his wand towards me and did a nonverbal spell. "Talk."

"Hello my name is Rosie Black," I said, grinning at the sound of my British accent. I've never really realised how much I missed it.

"I'm going to go change into my robes," I said, and went to the huge cupboards in the kitchen where all my wizarding stash was, including my wand.

I've really, really missed my wand. Eleven inches, mahogany, with a phoenix feather core. The same core as Harry's and Voldemort's. I dug around the enormous cupboard for a while before finding the clothes. Without even seeing what it was, I quickly changed into it and threw my Muggle clothes in the bin. It took a while to pack my bag as I couldn't do magic outside of Hogwarts, but it was worth it as I pictured seeing my dad and friends again.

"Rosie! You've got a letter from Dumbledore!"

I flew into the room with my belongings and rudely snatched the letter out of Charlie's hands.

_Dear Miss Black,_

_I was correct in my assumption that you were not very happy with me. However, I do not regret sending you away. After all, it was for your own safety. You do not have the Blood Wards as Harry has, for you grew up with Mr Lupin who is not related to you by blood. However, I deem it acceptable for you to return – I know your father has missed you very much. Tomorrow at noon Mr Lupin and Miss Tonks will be at your house to take you to Headquarters._

_Have a nice night, Miss Black._

_Professor Dumbledore._

_P.S. This letter will burn as soon as you've finished reading it. It will do no good for it to land in the wrong hands._

I jumped back, startled, as the letter quickly burst into flames in front of my eyes. I hissed in pain as the fire licked at my fingers and dropped it onto the floor. As soon as the pain left I felt annoyance. Headquarters? Headquarters for what? And I just packed my bag, which was useless as I wasn't leaving until tomorrow. I sighed in frustration and picked up my favourite Muggle book, Pride and Prejudice, hoping to kill time until I had to go to bed.

Ah well, I may be bored now, but at least I'm going home tomorrow.

**A.N - As you can see, I'm rewriting the first few chapters because they're so awful.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I woke up at ten o'clock the next morning, always being one to sleep in late. Like my father, I am not a morning person. At all. I yawned and got out of my bed, picking up some clean wizarding robes before going in the shower.

I let the hot water of the shower turn my pale skin pink, and my blonde curly hair soon turned straight and dark from the water. I was the type of person who did life decisions in the shower, and I spent my time wondering what I'll say once I see my father and Harry, Hermione, and Ron. And Draco Malfoy too. He is related to me through the Black family. And although he's a little shit to my friends, he's alright to me.

I got out of the shower after about twenty minutes and got dressed, brushed my teeth and hair, and tried to get used to the feeling of my wizarding robes after not wearing them for a while. Although they were extremely comfortable, they just felt strange as I hadn't worn them for the past few months.

I cleaned my room for the remaining hour or so, not being able to stay still in anticipation of seeing my godfather and Tonks, who was my second cousin or something like that. My hair was dry and back to its normal blonde curls when I finally went downstairs for something quick to eat and to say goodbye to Charlie.

I quickly grabbed an apple and started eating it.

"I'm going to miss you, Charlie," I mumbled through my apple. I delighted in seeing Charlie's blush. I loved to make him embarrassed.

"You too, kid," he grumbled in response, turning back to the television. I rolled my eyes.

I just put my apple core into the bin when the doorbell rang. I flew past Charlie and launched the door open, quickly being engulfed in the hug of my godfather.

"Uncle Moony!" I cheered. "I've missed you so much!"

"Hey! What about me?"

I let go of Remus to see Tonks beside him, her bubblegum pink hair turning a dull grey in her sadness.

"Oh," I said in mock disdain. "I suppose it's good to see you too. Marginally."

I made a show of looking her up and down, wrinkling my nose in disgust. She just laughed and pulled me into a hug.

"Your dad can't wait to see you," she whispered in my ear.

"That's right," said Remus, taking advantage of his werewolf hearing. "You should have seen his face when Dumbledore said you were coming home."

I grinned, noticing Remus had my belongings. "Can we go now?"

He nodded and held an arm out, I shouted "Bye, Charlie! Thanks for having me!" over my shoulder, before gripping his elbow and feeling the familiar pull of Apparition. I grunted as my feet slammed onto the ground outside of what I knew to be Grimmauld Place. Aunt Andromeda had shown me pictures when I visited her when I was little.

"Read this," said Remus, handing me a piece of parchment.

_Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix is located at 12 Grimmauld Place, London._

As soon as I read the words mentally, the house I'd seen in pictures squeezed into place between 11 and 13.

"Wicked," I breathed. Tonks sniggered and walked in front of me, opening the door.

"Welcome home, Rosie."

I walked into the hallways, but before I could take in my surroundings I was picked up into a huge hug. I clung onto the familiar dark hair and beamed.

"Daddy!"

He set me down but didn't remove his arms from around me. I started to feel emotional when I heard him sniffling.

"I've missed you, Dad," I choked into his shoulder. He squeezed me.

"Me too, Rosie Petal, me too."

I grinned at the nickname. I reluctantly pulled away and smiled up at him.

"Where's Harry, Ron and Hermione?"

As soon as I spoke the words a figure with bushy brown hair launched themselves at me.

"Hullo, Hermione."

I let go of her and pulled the redhead beside her into my arms.

"Ickle Ronniekins," I greeted. He scowled and flicked my forehead.

"Nice to see you too, Rosie Posie."

I glared at Tonks who just smiled innocently. It was her fault for spreading that bloody nickname around.

"Where's Harry?"

"He's still at the Dursleys'," my dad answered from where he was leaning against the doorframe.

"I'm going to go and see him."

"No you're not," growled my dad and Remus in unison.

"Why not?" I asked, annoyed.

"You'll wait until he gets here," said Dad sternly. "Besides, you can't use a Portkey because the Ministry will know where you are. And none of us will Apparate you there."

"Who said anything about Portkeys and Apparition?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'll just use my broom. I'll fly there."

My father opened his mouth to protest, but I cut him off.

"Daddy, please?" I begged. "I haven't seen him in about six months, and I'm not going to wait for another two weeks or so to see him again. I'm a good duellist. And if a Death Eater comes, which I doubt they will, I'll fly straight back. I promise. And Harry will be there to help fight them off anyway. We both duelled Voldemort last year, remember? I think we can protect ourselves."

Both my dad and Remus looked as though they still wanted to protest, but Tonks sighed.

"Just let her go," she said sternly. "She'll be fine."

I smiled at her and she winked in response.

"I'll see you later," I said to Ron and Hermione, unshrinking my Firebolt from my bag. I gave my dad another hug and walked out of Grimmauld Place.

"See you later," I grinned, swinging one leg over my broom. I haven't flown in ages.

Here I come, Harry.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

By the time I was leaving it was about 6 in the evening. I got my broom and flew over London, heading for the Dursleys' home.

After 3 hours of flying, I arrived outside their house in Surrey, my blonde hair messy from being whipped around by the wind. I knocked on the door and waited impatiently for two minutes until a fat man with a moustache opened it.

"Hi, you must be Mr Dursley," I said, perfectly polite. "Is Harry in?"

His piggy eyes looked over my form and his eyes bulged when he noticed my wizarding robes. Damn. I forgot to change into Muggle clothes. Oh well. Maybe if I looked weird it would stop Muggles from approaching me.

"Y-you're one of t-t-them, aren't you?" he stuttered, looking at me with a mixture of disgust and fear.

"What, a wizard?" I asked nonchalantly. "Well, I suppose I would be a witch seeing as I'm a girl, wouldn't I—?"

"Shut up, you freak!" he yelled loudly. "The neighbours might hear!"

I blinked. "Well, yeah. They would now, wouldn't they?"

His face turned purple. "The freak isn't here. He's at the park!" he snarled, before slamming the door in my face.

"How rude," I huffed. I then leaned closer to the door so I could speak through the letter flap thing.

"Er, Mr Dursley? Could I at least leave my broom with you?"

Silence.

"Oh, okay," I said loudly. "Thank you for your generosity. I'll just leave it in the bush. You're buying me a new one if it gets stolen."

Silence.

I rolled my eyes and stepped away from the door, putting my broom carefully in the bushes in the front garden, carefully arranging the leaves so that they cover it perfectly.

Once satisfied, I walked to the park feeling grateful that the streets were dead this evening. It was surprisingly warm out too. I wonder where everyone was. Maybe there was something happening in town? I shrugged and kept walking in the direction of the park. I came here with Harry once before third-year so I knew where it was. I rounded the corner and grinned when I saw the familiar mop of messy black hair.

Harry was sitting down on the swing, looking at the ground blankly as though depressed.

"Turn that frown upside down, sunshine!" I yelled, grinning. His head snapped up and he beamed.

"Rosie!"

We ran towards each other laughing, and he caught me as I jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist. We eventually parted and I took his hand, leading him back to the swings. I took a seat beside him.

"So, how have you been?" I asked, concerned. I haven't fully been able to recover from the horrors of the graveyard because I've been so busy in Forks. I think the only reason I didn't have nightmares was because Edward was there. I always sleep better when I have someone else with me. I sometimes snuck into Harry's bed in Gryffindor Tower because he helps me sleep.

Harry shrugged. "I've been better. I keep on having nightmares of when Cedric died." He shuddered.

I shivered with him. "I haven't had any so far. But I do miss him, even though we didn't really know him that well." I could feel tears well up in my eyes but I blinked them away. It was so sad that he was the first to die in this second war that's slowly brewing. He was so innocent.

He slung an arm over my shoulder. "So... how was Forks?"

"I'll tell you later with Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins," I said, looking ahead.

He looked confused. "Later?"

I smiled, bumping him in the shoulder. "When I get you out of this hellhole. I'll tell you at Headquarters."

"Headquarters? What do you mean?" he said, still not understanding.

"I thought Dumbledore told you," I frowned. "I mean, I know he didn't tell me, but seeing as you were here I assumed you knew—"

"You thought Dumbledore told me what? What is he keeping from me?" he asked, getting angry.

I lowered my voice into a whisper. "The Order? Y'know, the group against Voldemort? It's just been reformed after what happened... last... June," I choked out.

"He didn't tell me?" he asked, looking a bit hurt and annoyed.

"I didn't know either," I reminded him. "But I'm sure he kept it form us for a reason."

Harry just huffed and nodded. I shook my head. He was so stubborn.

My head snapped up as I heard footsteps approaching.. I grimaced when I saw Dudley and his gang.

"What's up, Dudley? Beat up another ten year old?" said Harry loudly.

"This one deserved it," he drawled in response.

"Five against one, that's very fair. Very brave," said Harry sarcastically.

"You're one to talk. Moaning in your sleep every night. At least I'm not afraid of my pillow," he sniggered. His friends laughed with him. I sneered at him, disgusted.

But Dudley didn't stop there.

"'Don't kill Cedric!' Who's Cedric? Is he your boyfriend?" he mocked.

That's when I snapped. I angrily got up from the swings, and Dudley's gang of followers looked at me appreciatively.

"You all want to know who Cedric is?" I demanded.

They all nodded.

"Cedric was one of mine and Harry's friends. He got murdered in June. Harry and I watched him get killed right before our eyes, and you're making it sound like some big joke. You disgust me," I spat viciously. A few of Dudley's followers had the decency to look ashamed, but quickly composed themselves.

But Dudley didn't get the hint.

"'He's going to kill me, Mum!' Where's your mum? Where is your mum, Potter? Is she dead? Is. She. Dead?" he taunted.

The last of my resolve crumbled. I brought my fist back and punched him right in his chubby cheek. He fell to the floor in shock, and his followers took a step back, surprised. Harry ran over and grabbed me before I could punch him again.

"You insensitive prat!" I hissed in fury.

Dudley got back up, and in that moment the weather started to change. The clear blue sky turned dark, and grey clouds were forming over where the bright sun was just a second ago. Thunder started, and there was a chilly gust of wind blowing over us. Realisation flashed across my mind. This has to be the work of Voldemort. Harry looked at me, panicked. He must've thought the same thing.

"What have you done?" Dudley asked fearfully, as his followers ran off.

"Nothing," spat Harry, though he was looking at the sky in worry.

Harry quickly grabbed my hand and we started running down the field. Dudley ran after us, panting with exhaustion, and even though Harry and I were getting tired we pushed our legs faster.

We ran for cover under a tunnel that was underneath the bridge, and we leaned against the wall, panting. I frowned when I saw that the front of the tunnel was suddenly misted over with a sort of black fog. I shuddered.

Suddenly, three Dementors flew out of the fog and one pinned me against the wall, its bony hand around my throat and choking me. I mentally cursed when I dropped my wand in surprise.

Harry was also pinned to the wall, and we both began struggling to no avail.

"Dudley, run!" yelled Harry.

Dudley, without even looking back, ran away in absolute terror but slipped and fell to the floor.

I watched in horror as the third Dementor flew up to him and began sucking the happiness out of him.

The Dementor that held me gripped tighter around my throat, and my hair turned different colours in my fear. It squeezed me and a strangled choke left my lips.

"Let... her... go!" Harry choked. I looked at him fearfully, and he whipped out his wand. My eyes widened. He was going to use magic. Unfortunately, my wand was still on the floor, so I had no hope.

Harry hit the Dementor in the face with his wand, and he dropped to the floor. He scrambled to his feet and raised his wand at the Dementor.

"Expecto Patronum!"

The Dementor flew backwards from the force of the spell, and Harry then aimed his Patronus to get rid of the Dementor holding me. The bony hand let go and I fell to the floor, trying to get as much oxygen into my lungs as possible. Harry ran over to me and helped me up.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

"Dudley," I choked out, picking up my wand from the floor.

Harry's Patronus soared towards the Dementor over Dudley and it flew off him, disappearing above the bridge.

I looked up when I saw a woman walking towards us. She was dragging what appeared to be a small suitcase, and her eyes were wide with fright.

"Mrs Figg," stated Harry. Her eyes flickered between the three of us.

"Don't put away your wand, Harry," she said gravely. "They might come back."

We then started walking back to the Dursleys', Harry and I trying to support the heavy weight of a disoriented Dudley. His eyes were cross-eyed and he was grumbling nonsense under his breath. Although I didn't like him, I was getting quite worried.

"Don't go out tonight," she warned. "It's too dangerous."

We both nodded and she went inside her house across the street.

"Take him inside," I muttered, gesturing at Dudley. "I'll be there in a minute."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I stayed outside for about five minutes, just breathing in the fresh air and trying to calm myself down.

There's no way Dementors would just attack for no reason, this was obviously the dirty work of Voldemort.

I took another deep breath and walked through the door of the Dursleys'.

When I walked in I rolled my eyes. Vernon was pigging out in ice cream, while standing next to Petunia, who was worrying over her Diddykins. I sniggered. Harry looked at me and smirked.

"What are you doing here?" Vernon spat.

"Seeing my best friend? Got a problem?" I said calmly. He huffed.

I walked over to Harry and rested my head on his shoulder. He hugged me next to him. Suddenly an envelope flew into the living room through the window. My eyes widened, and the envelope stopped in front of Harry, forming two slits for eyes, and another slit for a mouth.

"Dear, Mr Potter. The Ministry have received intelligence that at six twenty-three this evening, you performed the Patronus Charm in the presence of a muggle. As a clear violation of the decree for the reasonable restriction of underage sorcery, you are hear by expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I hope that you are well, Mafalda Hopkirk," said the envelope, before ripping itself into pieces.

Harry and I were stunned. Our expressions were completely blank. Harry got _expelled?_ But he can't be! It was self defence!

I looked worriedly at Harry, and he looked like he was about to cry. I rubbed his arm soothingly. There's no way in hell he's expelled. I won't allow it.

"Justice," Vernon sniggered, before digging into his ice cream again. I scowled at him and motioned for Harry to follow me upstairs. We got into his room, and I sat on his bed while he was pacing back and forth. He punched his dresser, and I flinched at the sound.

"Harry," I whispered. "Harry, you are not expelled. The only person who has the right to expel you is Dumbledore, and he hasn't said anything yet. You know what the Ministry is like. They hate Dumbledore. So don't worry about it, you're not expelled… yet," I whispered the last word. Harry clenched his jaw and sat next to me. We sat in silence for a while before I stood up.

"Let's go!" I said, trying my best to sound enthusiastic. Harry cocked an eyebrow.

"C'mon, Harry! We're going to Headquarters!" I grinned, clapping my hands. He chuckled. He packed all his belongings and got his Firebolt from the cupboard under the stairs, while I went outside to retrieve mine from the bushes.

"Let's get this show on the road," I said excitedly, before flying in the air.

Flying on a broom was so exhilarating, I found it hard not to giggle the entire time. My hair was whooshing behind me with the wind. And I could feel my cheeks getting pulled back by the force.

After a while of flying, we appeared outside 11 and 13 Grimmauld Place.

"Where's number twelve?" Harry asked in confusion. I giggled, before tapping the end of my broom on the road 3 times.

"12 Grimmauld Place, Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix," I whispered.

And suddenly, another house submerged in the middle of number 11 and 13. I smirked smugly at Harry, and he looked awed.

"Wow," he whispered. I nodded in agreement. After the house was finished 'setting up', I opened the front door.

"In you come Harry," I whispered.

He grinned. We walked down the narrow hallway, and Harry was immediately tackled in hugs by Tonks, Lupin, Molly, Arthur, and last but not least, my dad.

"Oh, my! Harry! You're so skinny! Here, I'll go make you some soup!" Molly exclaimed, before rushing to the kitchen. I laughed. My dad looked at me and came running up to me giving me a huge hug.

"Merlin's beard! I heard the Dementors got to you, are you okay?" he asked worriedly. I then noticed that everyone stopped talking and stared intently and me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Me, Harry and Dudley were at the park and suddenly the sky went all grey and… y'know. And we ran to this tunnel thing, and then three Dementors came. One of them grabbed me by the throat and pinned me against the wall, the other one did the same with Harry. And the last one was hovering over Dudley sucking the happiness out of him. Harry had no choice but to use magic. If not, we would've been killed," I stated with a grim expression.

There was an eerie silence. And everyone looked worried. Apart from Snape. Obviously.

"Am I really expelled from Hogwarts?" Harry asked worriedly.

Mad-Eye Moody shook his head. "No, it's not up to them whether your expelled or not. It's up to Dumbledore," he explained. I smirked at Harry.

"Told you," I said smugly. He playfully glared at me.

"Where is he anyway?" I asked no one in particular.

"Back at Hogwarts," Molly replied. I nodded.

"C'mon Harry, let's go see the gang," I said excitedly.

He laughed. I grabbed him by the hand and ran upstairs, opening the door as Hermione lunged at Harry.

"Harry!" she shrieked, wrapping him in a hug.

"Gee, I feel the love," I grumbled under my breath. She stuck her tongue out at me.

She looked over Harry.

"Oh God, are you okay? Did the Dementor get you?!" she said shrilly. I rolled my eyes.

"Once again, gee, I'm feeling the love. It's not like I didn't get attacked or anything," I mumbled again. She glared at me.

"Are you okay?" she asked me.

"Perfect!" I grinned. She rolled her eyes, before paying attention to Harry again.

"I can't believe they want to expel you from Hogwarts! It's absurd!" she rambled. We all just ignored her, and she pouted.

"No offence Hermione, but I think that's the least of our worries right now," I muttered, plopping down on the chair.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean, is, Voldemort is getting into action again. He's the one who sent them, isn't he?" I stated grimly. "I thought he'd lay low for a bit after what happened in the graveyard, but I was wrong."

"But maybe it was just his Death Eaters," said Ron hopefully. He obviously didn't want to think of Voldemort actually doing something yet. Harry and I rolled our eyes.

"Kids! Dinner!" shrieked Mrs Weasley from downstairs.

We all ran down the steps apart from Fred and George, who decided to be annoying and Apparated next to their mother instead.

Mrs Weasley screamed in fright. "Just because you can use magic outside of school, it doesn't mean you can use it for everything!" She whacked the twins on the back of their heads as they laughed hysterically.

We were all at the table eating when my father cleared his throat, looking at Harry and I with an apologetic expression.

"Harry, you have to go to the Ministry tomorrow for your hearing," he said quietly.

"Hearing?" he asked.

My dad nodded. "You used magic underage, so you need to testify in front of the Wizengamot."

"But I was there too," I said, confused. "Why aren't they making me go?"

"You are going," said Mr Weasley, smiling. "They didn't ask for you to come, but seeing as you're a witness for the defence you can support Harry."

"They must know that I was there," I argued. "So why didn't they tell me to come."

My dad sighed. "Rosie, the Ministry are doing everything in their power to remain ignorant. They're angry with you and Harry for supposedly 'lying' that Voldemort is back. And since Harry's given them the perfect opportunity to attack him... they will do so, tomorrow. They know you were there but they don't want you to come because then Harry will be proven that he's telling the truth about the Dementors, and will go free. They don't want that."

"Well, tough," I said arrogantly. "I'm going."

Harry looked slightly scared and I rubbed his arm, comfortingly. It was the best I could do.

After dinner, I was sitting upstairs with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins.

"Will you tell us about Forks now?" whined Hermione impatiently. Everyone else nodded eagerly in agreement.

After a good half an hour of story time, I was finally finished.

All the males in the room looked positively outraged. Hermione and Ginny looked upset.

"That's awful. How could he just leave you in the forest?" asked Ginny, bewildered. Hermione sniffled while I just shrugged.

Of course I was upset that Edward left me, I did love him. But I don't think I really have feelings for him anymore. I think what happened at the ballet studio changed my perspective a little. Why was he so reluctant to turn me? Did he not want me forever? I was now more angry and bitter more than anything. Was I not good enough for him?

I sighed. I was getting way too stressed. And it wasn't good as I've got the Hearing tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I woke up to the sound of Harry screaming in his sleep. I shot out of bed and ran to the next room where the boys were sleeping, Hermione and Ginny hot on my heels.

Harry and Ron were on the bed looking shaken. Harry had a sheen of sweat covering him and Ron looked panicked. I gasped and ran over to Harry.

"Oh, Merlin," I breathed, stroking his wet hair.

"What happened?" I asked softly. Harry shuddered.

"It was… I don't know! I just saw a black door with voices coming from the other side. I walked up to it... and then I just woke up," he said, shuddering again. I stiffened.

Harry felt my frozen posture and looked at me curiously.

"What's wrong?" he asked. My breathing hitched.

"Voldemort…" I whispered, and got up and started pacing.

Voldemort... Harry... nightmares… mind control… mind connections... scars. Oh Merlin. It all made sense. It's Voldemort. He's taunting Harry in his thoughts! Voldemort managed to get inside Harry's head and now he's messing with it.

I started to shake and I found it difficult to breathe.

"Sirius!" Harry shouted. Two seconds later, there was bang, and Arthur, Lupin, Molly, Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, and my dad came rushing in.

"What happened?" my dad asked frantically, running to my side.

"I don't know, she started whispering something about Voldemort and then started to hyperventilate," Harry blurted. Everyone shot each other a worried glance.

"Rosie Petal, look at me, love," Dad urged. I looked at him with unshed tears, and then looked frantically at Harry.

"Harry. How long have you been having these nightmares?" I asked slowly, trying to control my breathing.

"About two weeks, why?" he replied cautiously. I paled. Everyone looked at me, anticipating my next words.

"It's Voldemort. He's getting access to your mind. He has some weird mind connection with you," I blurted, trying not to cry. I was so worried for him.

Everyone took an intake of breath and looked horrified.

"How do you know?" Harry whispered.

"Look at the facts, Harry! You're the Boy-Who-Lived, and you're probably connected with him because of your scar, right? That's why it always hurts when he's near us," I said panicked. He gulped.

"Yeah, but I'm not the only one who survived that night. You're the Girl-Who-Lived, with the exact same scar as mine, so how come he's getting into my mind and not yours?" he asked sceptically.

"Because I studied Occlumency. It means he can't get into my mind," I replied with a sad, forced smile. He nodded and closed his eyes.

My dad started rubbing my arm soothingly, and I leaned into his side.

"What's the time?" I asked, yawning.

"Five o'clock," Tonks replied tiredly. I grunted.

"I might as well stay up then. Who wants breakfast? I'll make it," I announced.

Ron shot his hand up in the air and everyone laughed. Well, Harry and I forced a laugh.

Half an hour later, everyone was dressed for the day sitting down at the table, while I gave everyone their breakfast of sausages, eggs, bacon, beans, and French toast.

Ron looked at his food sceptically and started sniffing it. Everyone turned to look at him.

"Ron. What the _bloody hell _are you doing?" I asked, my brows furrowed.

"Checking you haven't poisoned it," he muttered. Everyone sniggered and resumed eating. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm touched you think so highly of me," I said sarcastically.

"I never know what to expect when it comes to you," he grumbled under his breath. I just rolled my eyes again.

I look at me reflection in the mirror. I had my hair up in a bun and I wore a black high-wasted pencil skirt and a white blouse. I had to make myself look presentable and sophisticated, didn't I?

"You look nice," complimented Harry awkwardly when I reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Thanks, you too," I smiled nervously.

"Don't worry, everything's going to be fine," Arthur reassured as we got into the lift to go to the Ministry of Magic. I just nodded.

We eventually got to the Ministry, and we walked past Lucius Malfoy who was talking to Fudge. He gave us a glare and I just glared back twice as hard.

Harry had to sit in a chair in the middle of the room facing Fudge, with all the members of the Wizengamot behind him sitting in rows wearing black. It was rather intimidating, and I could see Harry squirming uncomfortably under their gaze.

I had to sit on the sidelines, behind Harry and slightly to the right.

"Is it true you used magic underage?" Fudge asked.

"Yes, but—" Harry started, but Cornelius cut him off.

"Are you aware that it is illegal to perform magic outside of Hogwarts at this age?" Fudge interrupted.

"Well, yeah, but—" Harry started, but he cut him off again.

Fudge started going on about a load of crap, and accused Harry of lying when he said that Voldemort was back.

"Silence!" Dumbledore ordered as he walked in. Harry grinned at him and I let out a sigh of relief.

Dumbledore and Fudge immediately started arguing about the dilemma.

"You have no witnesses!" Cornelius hissed.

"Actually. We have," Dumbledore corrected, and ushered me to the seat. Fudge huffed in irritation, and gestured for me to give my statement.

"I was there when it happened. And I can assure you that when Harry used the Patronius Charm it was out of self defence. We were walking under a bridge, when three Dementors came and attacked us. If Harry didn't use the spell, we would've died. He had no choice but to do it. Whether he was in the presence of a Muggle or not, it was self defence," I informed him.

Fudge stared at me intently and it made me uncomfortable.

I then got out of the seat and Mrs Figg replaced it.

"What did the three look like?" he asked her.

"Well, one was rather large, the other was skinny. And the other was a girl—" she started, but Cornelius cut her off.

"No, I meant the Dementors," he said, chuckling condescendingly. I coughed, hiding a laugh.

"Um, they were dark, and big…" he said. Harry and I smirked at each other.

After that confrontation, Dumbledore started talking again.

"It's obvious that _someone _is sending them," Dumbledore stated, gazing at Fudge. Suddenly all I could here was "Ahem, ahem," from a woman in one of the rows.

She stood up, and I could see that she was short and squat and resembled a toad. Harry and I shot each other a look.

"It seems... well, correct me if I'm wrong. But, it seems that you're implying that the Ministry had sent them?"

An argument erupted, but I just zoned out of it, listening to my own thoughts and waiting for the verdict.

After a while, Harry came and tapped me on the shoulder.

"It's done, I'm clear of all charges," he said, a huge smile on his face. I smiled back in relief, and we walked to where Arthur was waiting.

_Thank Merlin for that._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It's been a couple of weeks since the hearing, and everything's back to normal. Well, as normal as it can be. I sat on the sofa laughing as Molly was rushing around making sure everything was ready, as we were leaving for Hogwarts today.

"Ronald! Have you finished packing?" she screeched up the stairs. I flinched. That woman can scream.

"Yeah, Mum!" he yelled back.

Ron, Hermione, Harry, Fred, George, and Ginny came downstairs. I gave them a huge smile as I saw that they were still half asleep.

"How are you still awake? What time did you get up this morning?" Ginny grumbled.

"I've been awake since about six o'clock," I replied. She shook her head in amazement.

Ron was about to make breakfast, but Molly stopped him.

"No Ron, we have no time for breakfast. C'mon, chop chop," she said, clapping her hands together.

Ron looked like he was about to cry.

"W-what? No b-breakfast?" he stuttered. Molly shook her head.

"But I'm bloody starving!" he whined. I rolled my eyes.

"Ron. We're going to have a huge feast later," I reminded him. His face lit up, and he bolted out the door. I giggled.

"Ready Hermione?" I asked.

"Yes! I'm always ready for Hogwarts," she replied with a grin on her face.

We skipped to the car with our suitcases behind us.

The car ride to the train station was hilarious. Fred and George were scheming pranks to pull on the teachers, while I was watching them with excitement. Harry and Hermione were talking about classes, and Ron was looking out the window crying because he was hungry.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, he was crying.

We finally arrived at the train station, and we were heading to platform 9¾.

I saw a black dog walking towards me, and I instantly recognised who it was.

"Dad, what the hell are you doing here?" I hissed under my breath. This was dangerous, if he gets caught he will get sent back to Azkaban.

He motioned me to follow him, and found him in his human form in a spare little room.

"I couldn't let my baby girl go without saying goodbye," he said smiling. I jumped into his arms and gave him a huge hug.

"I'm gonna miss you Daddy," I murmured into his chest.

"I'm gonna miss you too Rosie Petal," he muttered back, before letting go of me and changing into his dog form, running towards the others.

We all got out suitcases and headed for the wall. Ron went first, and he ran towards the wall, disappearing through it.

One by one we all ran through the wall, and we appeared on to platform 9¾, which was busy and packing with parents and children.

The train was already there, and we rushed onto it looking for a compartment. We finally found one in the middle of the train and we all sat down, apart from the twins and Ginny who went off to find their own friends.

We all steered into conversation, talking for hours until the train finally stopped. Harry and I got out and froze at what we saw.

Voldemort was standing not twenty feet from us, wearing a black suit. He looked evilly at us, staring without breaking eye contact.

I gripped onto Harry's arm as if it were a lifeline. I was terrified. And judging Harry's expression, he was too.

He protectively pushed me a little behind him, while we both stared at the man who killed thousands of people.

And in a flash, he was gone.

I let out a huge breath, and stared at Harry, blinding fear etched onto my face. He looked worriedly at me, and I choked back a sob. I was absolutely terrified of him. Seeing him just made me want to crawl up in a corner and die. I took a deep breath, I needed to get a grip. I was a Gryffindor. I better start acting like one.

"Don't worry, it'll be okay," he reassured, but I could hear the fear and shakiness in his voice.

"What's wrong, guys?" asked Ron.

"Nothing," we both replied. He looked suspiciously at us, but let it go. Hermione though, was not convinced.

"Tell me later," she whispered into my ear, before joining Ron. I nodded, I knew better than to try and lie to Hermione.

Malfoy walked passed us then. He sneered at Harry, but when he looked at me, his expression softened, and a small smile was playing on his lips. I smiled back. Draco and I were quite good friends, ever since I found out we were related in first year. He was still an arse to my friends, but he tried to tone it down a little when I was around.

Harry glared back, and we walked off to the boats.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were on one boat, and I couldn't help the smile I got on my face when I looked at Hogwarts.

I had some amazing times here. Some were terrible, but most of the were good. Harry knew what I was thinking, and he grabbed my hand, giving a small squeeze. I looked at him and smiled, he really was a great big brother.

I looked over at Ron and Hermione, and they were arguing. No surprise there. Harry chuckled while I rolled my eyes.

"Do you guys ever shut up?" I asked incredulously.

"Nope," Ron replied, stuffing his face with a chocolate frog. Hermione glared at him and hit the back of his head.

"Ow! Bloody hell Hermione! What was that for?" he moaned, rubbing the back of his head.

"Eat with your mouth closed," she hissed. I burst out laughing, but immediately stopped when she gave me the coldest glare that she could manage. It was so scary that I cowered back.

She smirked smugly at my reaction and turned back around.

I was glaring holes into the back of her head for the rest of the journey.

We arrived at the castle and I squeaked with excitement. I couldn't stop jumping up and down. Harry chuckled, and put a restraining hand on my shoulder, forcing me to stop bouncing.

"Calm down, Rosie. We don't want to scare the first years," he said, smirking. I scowled at him.

"Whatever," I grumbled, before we all made our way to the Great Hall.

We sat down at the Gryffindor table, and Dumbledore stepped forward.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts!" he exclaimed, and the whole room erupted into cheers.

"As you all know, The Forbidden Forest is obviously, forbidden. And all Weasley products are banned. We also have two new teachers and five new students starting this year. They are vampires, but they drink from animal blood," he explained. There were gasps around the room and everyone started talking.

I paled, it couldn't be _them, _could it? I noticed Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George looking at me, thinking the same thing as me. I just shook my head and focused on Dumbledore.

"Everyone, please welcome, the Cullens!" he said, clapping his hands. The room started clapping, apart from me and my friends. They all looked at me, concerned, and I closed my eyes hoping it was a dream, but it wasn't.

Emmett and Alice got put in Gryffindor, Jasper and Edward in Ravenclaw, and Rosalie in Slytherin. No surprise there.

Esme was going to teach Muggle Studies, and Carlisle was going the help Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing.

"Oh, I almost forgot. We also have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. I hope you all welcome, Professor Dolores Umbridge," he said, smiling, even though it looked forced.

Harry and I gasped as she came into view. She was wearing all pink, and still hideously looked like the toad we saw at the Ministry. Our friends looked at us curiously.

"What's wrong?" asked Fred and George in unison.

"That's Dolores Umbridge. She was at the hearing Rosie and I went to, she works for Fudge," Harry explained bitterly, they all shot each other looks.

"I know," I muttered, seeing their expressions.

This was going to be a long year. Not only were the Cullens here, but Umbridge was too.

_Merlin help us all._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I stared down at my full plate and gulped. I couldn't bring myself to eat, seeing as the Cullens were here. Seeing them face to face had brought their betrayal full force into my mind, and I gripped my fork tightly, feeling angry and slightly humiliated that they had left me.

Ron was stuffing his face as usual, while Hermione was hitting him with her spoon, and Harry was eating, watching Ron and Hermione's argument with an amused yet slightly annoyed expression.

"Ron! For Merlin's sake! Slow down! Do you have any manners?" Hermione scolded. Harry chuckled.

"No," he replied simply, shoving a piece of tart into his mouth. Hermione sighed frustrated.

I could feel the Cullens' gaze on me, but ignored it. I froze as Edward got up from his seat and walked past me. As he caught my scent he stiffened and visibly tensed. He looked at me, his butterscotch eyes wide and hopeful.

"Bella?" he whispered. I quickly stood up, facing Harry.

"Well, it's getting quite late," I said weakly. "I'll see you in the Common Room."

I was running as fast as I could to the Gryffindor Common Room, hoping that none of the Cullens were following me. My chest was heaving from near hyperventilation.

"Miss Black!" Professor McGonagall called. I sighed and turned around.

"Yes Professor?" I asked sweetly.

"Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office, along with Harry. The password is _Blood Pops,_" she informed. Blood Pops. How ironic. I nodded and made my way to his office.

"Blood Pops," I said to the gargoyles, and then the staircase came down. I went up the staircase to his office to see Dumbledore, Harry, and the Cullens there. I smiled tightly, trying not to show any discomfort.

The Cullens all looked at me and I glared fiercely. They all flinched. Even Rosalie. I stood next to Harry and he wrapped an arm around me for comfort.

Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"Now, seeing as you two know the castle very well, I want you to show the Cullens around," he explained. I closed my eyes and sighed, frustrated.

"Okay. But may I ask why the Cullens are here in the first place?" Harry asked through gritted teeth. He hated the Cullens almost as much as I did for what they did to me.

"They are here to protect you and Rosie from Voldemort. They will be very useful to us as the spells just rebound off them," he replied cheery. I glared at the old man.

"We can protect ourselves fine, thank you very much." Harry hissed. I nodded in agreement. Dumbledore sighed.

"Just show them around the castle," he dismissed. We rolled our eyes and turned to look at the Cullens.

They were staring at me with hope in their eyes. I snorted. They've got another thing coming if they think I'm going to take them back so easily.

I narrowed me eyes at them.

"Follow me," I commanded, before dramatically turning on my heel, walking away.

Harry walked beside me while the Cullens were talking in hushed whispers behind. I zoned out not wanting to listen to their conversation.

"Are you okay?" Harry whispered into my ear. I smiled and nodded.

"I'm fine, just a bit pissed, that's all," I replied. He nodded.

For the next hour we showed them the castle, only talking when absolutely necessary or when they asked a question. We eventually dropped Rosalie off at the Slytherin Common Room, Edward and Jasper at Ravenclaw, and Esme and Carlisle at their offices.

It was now just Harry, Emmett, Alice and I walking to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Bella—" Alice started, but I cut her off.

"Save it," I hissed.

Alice and Emmett frowned and went to their own places in the common room, occasionally taking a curious glance at us and talking to each other too fast for me to decipher.

Harry and I walked in after them and it all went silent.

Seamus Finnigan glared at us, which surprised me. I knew he shared a dormitory with Harry and Ron, and we were also friendly to each other. What was wrong with him?

Wordlessly, Seamus threw the Daily Prophet at Harry and I. It showed a picture of him at the Ministry, and information on what happened.

It said that Harry nearly exposed us for no reason, and that we were both still seemingly determined to throw the wizarding world into a panic by announcing that Voldemort had returned. Of course, it didn't say 'Voldemort' in the paper. It said 'You-Know-Who'. Cowards.

I stared at it incredulously, Harry doing the same.

"Me mam didn't want me to come back this year," Seamus hissed, while his best friend, Dean Thomas, looked awkwardly between us.

"Oh, and why's that?" asked Harry casually, his hands balling into fists. We all knew exactly what Seamus was talking about.

"Let me see," replied the Irish boy sarcastically. "Because of you." His eyes flickered to me before returning to Harry. "The Daily Prophet's been saying about you and Rosie. Dumbledore, as well."

"What, and your mum believes them?" I asked incredulously. I had briefly met Seamus' mother at the Quidditch World Cup, and she seemed like a kind and intelligent woman.

"Nobody was there the night Cedric died," he said defensively.

"Well maybe you should read the Prophet then, like your stupid mother," said Harry angrily.

"Don't you dare talk about my mother like that!"

"I'll have a go at anyone who calls Rosie and I liars," replied Harry, fuming.

"What's going on?" asked Ron, entering the common room.

"They're both mad! That's what's going on," said Seamus, pointing at Harry and I. "D'you believe the rubbish they've been saying about You-Know-Who?"

"Yeah, I do," said Ron loudly. "Has anyone else got a problem with Harry and Rosie?"

Silence.

Harry sighed heavily and dragged me to one of the sofas, and we both completely ignored Emmett and Alice who were staring at us. I grabbed a lock of my hair and noticed it was bright red in my anger. I took a deep breath and willed it to go to its natural colour.

"Are you okay?" I asked Harry softly. His knuckles were gripping the armchair, and they were bone white.

"Yeah," he lied.

I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder, trying to give him some comfort while he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. This is what we did, comfort each other. We were in the same situation, after all.

"Judging by your reaction at the station, I'm assuming that you saw Voldemort too?" he said quietly.

"Mmm."

"I thought you knew Occlumency. How did he get in your head?"

"I think that's obvious, Harry," I sighed.

I then said the thing that's been scaring me and plaguing my thoughts all day.

"He's getting stronger. I can't push him out anymore."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I had a terrifying nightmare that night.

_I was in a dark hallway, and in front of me was a creepy looking black door._

_I inched closer towards it, and I could hear hushed whispers behind the closed door._

_I couldn't go any closer, I was paralysed by fear. I gulped, and tried my best to listen to the voices._

_But I couldn't concentrate on them. The only think I could concentrate on was the furiously erratic beating of my heart, my sweaty palms, and my wide eyes frantically looking around for any sign of danger._

_I took a shaky breath, and I inched closer towards the door, seeing the metallic handle. I got closer… and closer..._

I sat up frantically, with a bead of sticky sweat rolling down my face. My breathing was laboured, and I couldn't stop shaking. I choked back a sob and could feel tears gushing like rivers down my cheek, mixing with the sweat.

I looked at the end of my bed and let out a yelp of surprise.

Hermione was there, looking at me with concern.

"Want to talk about it?" she asked, giving a small smile.

"You know the nightmare Harry had a couple of days ago, about the door? I just had it," I replied shakily. She blinked twice.

"The same one," she whispered, deep in thought.

I choked back a sob. I was never the type of person who frequently had nightmares, so it was all a bit of a shock to me. I felt so cold and helpless trapped inside my own mind.

"He's not only messing with Harry's head, he's messing with mine to," I whispered in a strangled voice, wrapping my arms around my knees. She rubbed my arm.

"It'll get better."

I nodded.

"What's the time?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Six. We have an hour until breakfast." I nodded.

"Might as well get up then," I said as I heaved myself from the warmth of the blankets.

I got changed into my robes and tidied my hair using my Metamorphmagus powers. My blonde hair fell in delicate curls down my back, and my violet eyes were gleaming, but if you looked closely, you could clearly see the fear my light purple orbs held.

I added a touch of make up and went to find Hermione. It was already seven.

"Ready?" she asked

"Yeah," I said in a distant tone. It felt as though I wasn't quite in the real world yet. My brain was whizzing and trying to understand the nightmare. It was only a door, so why did it star in mine and Harry's dreams?

"Let's see if you'll be ready for our first class," she stated. I furrowed my eyebrows, confused. She sighed.

"We have Professor Umbridge, Rosie," she muttered. My eyes darkened.

"If she tries anything…" I trailed off threateningly. I remembered all too well the _enlightening _speech she gave before I left because of the Cullens.

"You will do nothing," she replied in a hard tone, glaring at me.

"What?" I asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Don't get yourself into any trouble. The Ministry are already onto you and Harry, so don't give her anything she could use against you," she said sternly, not breaking our gaze. I sighed.

"Fine… I'll try my best to keep in line," I grumbled.

"Good."

We entered the Great Hall then. All eyes were on me. I quietly groaned at the attention. It seemed that everyone still thought I was a filthy liar.

"For Merlin's sake," I grumbled. "Haven't they got anything better to do than to stare at Harry and I?"

"Don't worry," said Hermione, glaring at the people who were leaning forward to listen to our conversation. "They'll soon apologise when it's discovered you were telling the truth all along."

We sat down opposite Ron and Harry, I looked closer at the latter, and noticed that he looked exhausted and worried.

"Hey. What's wrong?" asked Harry, looking at my tired expression in concern.

"I had a nightmare last night… the same one you had at Headquarters. With the door," I whispered, leaning forward.

His eyes widened and he visibly paled. He drew in a shaky breath.

"I had that nightmare last night too," he breathed.

"It was scary, wasn't it," I stated, staring off into space.

"Yeah. But... wait – hang on. I thought Hermione taught you Occlumency?!" he questioned, staring at me. I nodded.

"Yes, but it's not strong enough… I'm too weak… and Voldemort is too strong," I said, my appetite immediately disappearing.

Harry gulped.

"That's not the worst part either," I stated, locking my eyes with his.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"We have Umbridge in about ten minutes," I reminded him.

We both glanced at Umbridge at the exact same time, who was glaring daggers and staring at us. Her toad-like face was fierce.

Harry groaned, and banged his head against the table.

"I know," I muttered.

"Could this day get any worse?" Harry groaned.

"Huh?" Ron asked through a mouthful of food.

"We have Umbridge next. How fun," I said sarcastically.

Ron paled.

"Crap," he murmured.

_Crap indeed._

**(AN - Hey guys! Sorry this chapter isn't so long. I want to ask you to please please please review! It gives me a lot of motivation to update quicker. Plus, I was thinking of what to do with Sirius. As you all know, he dies in the film and book. So, do you want him to die or not? Please review and give me your answer!)**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

We all finished eating, and Harry, Hermione, Ron and I reluctantly made our way to Umbridge's class.

I was swearing under my breath as we got closer and closer to the classroom. Why did she have to be here?

We walked in and everyone was already seated, and Umbridge was at her desk glaring at us.

"You're late," she said menacingly. I glared at her, knowing she was wrong. We were actually on time, she just arrived at her classroom five minutes early.

"No. You're just early," I said coldly. Hermione nudged me and shot me a warning glance. I huffed and got to my desk, the bushy-haired girl sliding in next to me.

I looked behind me and saw all the Cullens minus Carlisle and Esme because the class was mixed houses. Just my luck, honestly.

I groaned and they all looked at me, I narrowed my eyes and they quickly looked away.

She wrote down something about OWLS on the board, and handed us books. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and raised my hand.

"Yes, Miss Black?" she asked reluctantly.

"How come there's no spells in this book?" I asked, feeling stupid. She cackled, and she sounded like an evil witch. No pun intended. She sounded like the one's that Muggles portray, with the long nose and warts.

"You do not need spells for this. There is no danger so you don't need them. You will be learning about the spells in a safe environment," she stated cheerfully.

I gasped, and my jaw dropped. I looked around at everyone in the class and they looked the same.

"What? How the hell are we going to defend ourselves if we don't know the spells?" I hissed in anger. She shot me a look.

"Because you don't need them. Besides, who is out there that could possibly cause a threat?" she asked rhetorically, but I answered anyway.

"Hmm, I don't know. Voldemort maybe?"

She clenched her jaw and shot me a glare.

"He. Is. Not. Back," she hissed.

"Well he obviously did, since he killed Cedric," I spat angrily.

"Cedric was not killed, his death was a tragic accident." she protested, looking around the class with fake sadness.

"NO IT WASN'T! HE WAS MURDERED! I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES! VOLDEMORT KILLED HIM!" I screamed for the whole world to hear. I was so tempted to yank my wand out and hex her into next week.

Umbridge looked furious, but composed herself.

"It's true," Harry stated. Everyone looked at him, and Umbridge glared.

"Rosie's telling the truth. I was there too. Cedric was killed by Voldemort," he said calmly, though I saw his fists shake. His eyes never leaving Umbridge's.

She closed her eyes and her nostril's flared.

"Both of you are having detention in my office at eight o'clock. Don't be late," she warned. Harry and I were about to protest, but decided it would be better to shut our mouths instead.

"Well done, Rosie, just brilliant," Hermione hissed into my ear. I just rolled my eyes.

"Well, I'm telling the truth, and if she doesn't want to believe me then that's her fault," I replied arrogantly.

I looked behind me to the Cullens.

Emmett gave me a thumbs up and looked proud that I stood up for myself, Rosalie looked proud too, she was smiling at me. Edward and Alice on the other hand, looked disappointed and upset at my behaviour. Jasper just looked shocked.

I smirked at them before turning back around.

That lesson was possibly the most boring lesson of my entire life. We spent the whole hour in silence. The only sounds were the scribbling of our quills as we were copying different extracts from the book. Yeah, a whole hour of copying pointless things from a book in silence. Fun.

Class was over and I muttered a quiet "Thank Merlin" under my breath. We packed our quills and books, and we were walking out the door when Umbridge walked – more like waddled – up to Harry and I.

"Remember, detention in my office at eight," she reminded us in her god awful voice, which was like a baby's cooing and nails on chalkboard combined.

I looked at Harry as we were walking down the corridor.

"What do you think she's gonna make us do?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"Probably lines. I wouldn't be surprised if she hexed us or something though. She is a bit evil," he replied, shuddering. I laughed loudly, and a couple of people looked at me.

"What?" I hissed, and they looked away quickly, terrified.

Ron shook his head.

"Can you go a whole day without scaring people?" he asked. I just shook my head and he chuckled.

We had Potions with Slytherin now, which I was dreading because Snap absolutely loathed me.

The good thing though, is that I get to sit by Draco. I haven't spoken to him in a while so it should be fun to catch up. Who knows, maybe he'll let me in on a few secrets. After all, he is the Slytherin Prince and knows _everything. _His words, not mine.

I walked in and Snape immediately glared at me. I just laughed under my breath with an amused smirk, and sat next to Draco.

"Something funny, Black?" he asked, amused.

"Yeah, Malfoy. I was just wondering how long it will take for Snape to realise that I'm not scared of him, so it's completely pointless glaring at me every time I walk into a room," I informed him, my smirk still intact. He chuckled under his breath.

"He's just in a bad mood today," he said conversationally.

"When is he not in a bad mood?" I asked disbelievingly. This cause us both to snigger under our breaths.

"Something funny, Miss Black?" He asked, trying to be intimidating.

"Yeah actually. I was asking Draco of you are ever in a good mood," I said, putting on a dazzling smile which seemed to piss him off even more. I knew I was acting like my father did when he was in Hogwarts, and I also knew it would make Snape very angry.

"Detention at eight o'clock," he sneered.

I smirked.

"Can't, sorry. I have detention with Umbridge," I said smugly. At this rate I would probably prefer detention with the toad rather than him.

He just glared at me defeated, and stalked off.

Draco was laughing next to me.

"I just love how I get told off and you're let off the hook," I said sarcastically.

"Well, what can I say? Everyone loves me," he said arrogantly. I just rolled my eyes, listening to Snape's monotonous voice which could send a vampire to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

All our lessons came to an end, and Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were making our way to the common room.

"Do you think there's such things as flying pigs?" Ron asked out of the blue, while munching on a crisp.

"I don't know, Ron," I sighed, rubbing my temples. That boy never shuts up. I had a headache already and was dreading the detention with Umbridge later on.

"Because there's such things as witches, werewolves and vampires… so why not flying pigs?" he continued. I just shrugged, not even bothering to answer.

"They might, though I've never seen one," Hermione mused. I looked at her, surprised. I would've thought she'd argue with Ron over something like this.

"I doubt they exist," I cut in. "Anyway, I'm going to get some rest, to mentally prepare myself for toad face's wrath," I said, shuddering.

"Oh yeah, good luck with Umbridge," Ron grumbled, before plopping down on a chair.

"Yeah," I muttered quietly, before flopping on my bed for a quick nap.

I awoke to Hermione shaking me.

"Rosie! Rosie, wake up! You have detention with Umbridge in five minutes!" she shrieked, her brown eyes wide.

I yelped and shot off the bed in a matter of seconds.

"Five minutes? Damn, Hermione! Why didn't you get me up earlier?" I hissed. She glared.

"I'll have you know that I've been trying to get you up for the past ten minutes! It's not my fault you're a deep sleeper!" she hissed back. I smiled sheepishly.

"Oh. Sorry," I said timidly. She rolled her eyes.

I met up with Harry in the corridors, and he was looking bored though impatient. I supposed he just wanted to get this over with.

"Ready?" I asked.

"No," he admitted. "But the quicker we get there, the quicker we can leave, right?"

"Yeah, yeah."

We walked to her office in silence, not knowing what to expect.

I have to admit, I was feeling slightly nervous as we got closer and closer to our destination. Umbridge was practically Satan in disguise.

We arrived at her office, and I flinched as I saw the pink door. If her door's pink, Merlin knows what it's like inside.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Harry rasped the door hesitantly.

"Come in," her voice made me wince, it was like the nails on chalkboard again.

Harry and I glanced at each other before walking in.

My eyes widened and I cringed as my guesses were correct. The whole room was pink, and the walls were covered with pictures of cats. It was like I just landed in a fairy princess fairytale. Except that a toad known as Umbridge was sitting in her chair glaring at us.

Her eyes narrowed and she took a sip of her _pink _tea. Could this get any worse?

"Sit, sit," she commanded, as though we were dogs. I fought against the urge to attack her. I hated people who yelled out orders. Apart from when I did it.

We obediently sat down on the chairs, with a pink desk in front of us. For Merlin's sake, more pink.

Harry was sat next to me, looking at the pink desk in astonishment; he was obviously thinking the same thing as me.

"What are we going to be doing today?" Harry asked in a bored tone. She looked at us from her tea.

"Lines. You'll be writing _'I must not tell lies'_," she responded, walking over to us and giving us a piece of parchment each.

"Um… there's no ink, Professor," I stated the obvious. She laughed a bone chilling laugh.

"Oh, you won't need ink," she informed, a secretive smile playing at her chapped lips. I glared.

"How many lines do we have to write?" Harry asked, wanting to get it over with.

"Hmm, I don't know." She walked behind me, and bent down so she was talking by my ear. "However much it takes for it to… _sink in."_

I shared a glance with Harry before shaking my head and began to write.

I wrote the sentence on the parchment, and watched it sink into the paper. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

Suddenly, I hissed as I felt a sharp pain on my hand. It was as if someone was cutting it open with a pocket knife.

I looked at my hand, and watched in astonishment as the sentence "_I must not tell lies" _appeared on the pale skin. It left a red soreness on my whole hand, and it hurt.

I noticed a gasp coming from Harry, and saw him cradling his hand too.

He looked at me, and clenched his jaw as he saw my hand. We both looked up and glared at her in unison, and she simply looked back at us with an innocent smile on her face.

"Problem?" she asked, in a fake sugary sweet tone.

"No," Harry replied in a clipped tone. I couldn't say anything, in fear that if I did I would end up lunging for her.

"Well, now that it has _sunk in," _she smirked, "you may leave."

We simply nodded and half ran to the door, desperate to get out of that hellhole. We were silent as we went down the hallways until I broke the silence.

"She's crazy!" I shrieked, and my golden blonde curly hair turned into a steaming red.

Harry put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Calm down. I'm not happy about it either," he replied in a tense voice.

"We should tell Dumbledore about this, this is clearly not legal, it's child abuse!" I ranted.

"No, Dumbledore's got a lot on his plate at the moment, and we are not going to make it worse."

I looked at him in disbelief, but he gave me a scowl, and I caved.

"Fine, we won't say anything," I muttered reluctantly.

"Good."

The rest of the walk to the common room was silent, as we were going over what just happened at that mad woman's office.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Harry Potter.**

**Authors Note - Sorry I haven't updated in ages!**

Chapter 11

We arrived at the common room to see other fellow Gryffindors hanging around, but neither Ron nor Hermione were anywhere in sight.

"Come on, we need to study," Harry prodded, guiding me to the sofa.

"Do we have to?" I whined, plopping down on the seat.

"Yes. We do," he said while bringing out a book.

I, of course, couldn't be bothered studying, so I just sat there nosily listening to other people's conversations while Harry read the book.

I sighed out of complete boredom.

"Hermione, you are the most amazing person I've ever met," Ron gushed from afar, while Hermione blushed. I waved them over and they sat down next to Harry and I.

"Are you studying? Thank goodness someone is!" Hermione babbled. Ron and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

It was silent for a few seconds, before Hermione broke it.

"Harry, what is that on your hand?"

Harry and I shared a panicked glance.

"Nothing," I said, a bit too quickly.

She narrowed her eyes, before forcefully grabbing my hand.

On my hand, laid the scar which said "I must not tell lies".

"Harry, Rosie, you have to tell Dumbledore!" she persuaded.

"Thank you! That's exactly what I said!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air.

"No. Dumbledore's got enough on his mind. Plus I don't want to give Umbridge the satisfaction."

I rolled my eyes.

"Bloody hell, the woman's torturing you! If the parents knew about this—"

"Well I haven't get any of those, Ron," he snapped.

"You've got to report this!" Hermione said.

"No. You don't understand," Harry replied, before picking up his book and leaving.

We sat in an awkward silence.

"Are you going to tell Dumbledore?" Hermione said yet again.

"I want to, but I won't go against Harry's wishes," I sighed.

She nodded.

We spent the rest of the night talking about unimportant things, before we eventually went to our dorms.

For the first time in ages, I went to sleep without disturbing images of Voldemort.

...

I felt oddly happy as I woke up this morning. Breakfast went great, and I didn't even see the Cullen's.

"Bella."

I spoke to soon.

"Yes, Alice?" I said in a bored tone, inspecting my nails.

"We should totally go shopping! You have fashion sense now, and I saw some amazing robes the other day!" she squealed.

I looked up at her and gave her a glare.

"No."

I was vaguely aware of Hermione pulling at my robes. Alice's face dropped. It was then I noticed that all the Cullens were standing behind her. Rosalie gave me a soft smile and I hesitantly smiled back. I could forgive Rosalie, after all, she didn't pretend to be my best friend and then drop me, like Alice.

It was then I noticed that Edward wasn't with them.

"Where's Edward?" I asked out of curiosity.

Alice gave an excited wild grin.

"No Alice! I do not like your brother. I only asked out of curiosity. Not that I care where he is anyway," I muttered.

"But you're mates!" she exclaimed stubbornly, crossing her tiny arms.

"No we're not! If we were mates, he wouldn't have been able to leave me in the forest!" I shrieked, my hair turning a steamy red again.

Alice sputtered.

"Leave it, Alice," Rosalie warned.

I gave her a grateful smile.

"Anyway, I better be off," I said before turning on my heel and walking off.

"He's hunting by the way!" she called after me, obviously hoping that I'd wait to greet him or something. I rolled my eyes.

"She never gives up, does she," Ron stated.

"Nope. Where's Harry?"

"He's gone for a walk, said he wanted to clear his head," Hermione answered. I nodded.

"Well, let's go to Potions then," I said gloomily. As we were nearing the door, I began to walk faster and faster.

"What are you doing, Rosie? Why are you walking so fast?" said Hermione, half jogging to keep up with me.

"Snape's in a bad mood today," I said excitedly, as I suddenly recalled his extremely grumpy face at breakfast, "and I can't wait to wind him up even more. I bet it'll take five minutes until he cracks."

"I bet he's already cracked," said Ron, causing us to laugh.

...

Later that evening, Harry and I walked quietly to Umbridge's office, feeling as though we were about to face death. Harry paused to knock, but I just ignored him and swung the door open loudly, plopping myself on a chair. I inwardly smiled at the glare of annoyance she sent me.

"You know what to do," she said, smiling sweetly at us.

Harry and I looked up at the window simultaneously, trying to get a glimpse of the Quidditch tryouts.

Wordlessly, we picked up our quills and began to write _"I must not tell lies."_

I could hear Umbridge's foot tapping against the leg of her chair, and it was really annoying me. I looked at Harry, and found him gritting his teeth while writing the lines. I smiled as I thought of a plan, and I let out a loud, dramatic yawn before resting back in my chair with my hands behind my head. Harry looked at me curiously, as did Umbridge.

"Is there a problem?" she asked in that horrible voice.

"Yes, you did not clarify how many lines we had to write," I replied, just as sweetly. She glared nastily.

"I already told you yesterday… until it _sinks in_."

I held up my hand, which was cut open and bleeding, and showed her as an example.

"Well I don't know about you, Professor, but I think it already has sunk in," I said cheekily, all the while sporting a triumphant grin. I could hear Harry smother a laugh.

Her nose twitched, and I inwardly laughed as I realised how much she resembled a rat.

She stayed silent.

We both continued to write the lines, until she stood up half an hour later.

"Let's see if you've got the message yet, shall we?" she said.

She grabbed both our hands, but a she touched us, a searing hot pain flashed across our scars. We both hissed, and Harry's hand flew up to his forehead, while mine clutched at my neck, just below my left ear.

We rubbed furiously at the scars, and stared at Umbridge.

"Yes. It hurts, doesn't it?" she said softly.

We didn't answer, instead we hastily got to our feet and stormed out the door, horror etched onto our pale faces.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Harry Potter.**

Chapter 12

After what happened in Umbridge's office Harry and I were safe to say that we were terrified.

"You don't think she's being possessed do you?" asked Harry shakily. I shook my head.

"No, if she was under the Imperious Curse she would have glossy eyes and a weird look on her face, and she didn't. Not that her face isn't weird anyway."

Harry didn't laugh, but instead chewed his lip nervously. I reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia," we muttered to the Fat Lady, and she gave us curious looks before swinging forward. Harry and I probably looked like right nutters, running through the Common Room with blood dripping down our hands, hair a mess, and breathing heavily. Luckily the Gryffindors were used to my weirdness, so they stayed quiet.

"Harry! Rosie, I'm Keeper!" said Ron excitedly as he ran towards us with Butterbeer all down his front.

"What? Oh - brilliant!" said Harry, trying to sound enthusiastic, but had a panicked look on his face.

"Yeah, well done!" I said, trying to ignore the pounding in my neck where my scar was.

Ron ran across the room to get more Butterbeer, as me and Harry ran towards Hermione, who was sitting on the sofa knitting hats. Usually, I would have made some sarcastic remark, but this was too important.

Harry wasted no time in telling her what happened.

"Listen, Hermione, we were just sat up in Umbridge's office and she touched our hands…"

Hermione listened closely without interrupting. She looked so… calm. I, on the other hand, was wringing my hands together and breathing heavily like a bloody bear.

She sat there, silent for a while before she said slowly, "So you think You-Know-Who's controlling her? Like the Imperious Curse?"

Harry hesitantly nodded, while I shook my head vigorously.

"Of course she's not under the Imperious Curse. She would have had glossy eyes and acted weirdly, but she didn't. She seemed… normal," I muttered.

"Well, Dumbledore said that your scar hurt when You-Know-Who was feeling a strong emotion. Maybe it's just a coincidence that it happened while you were with her?"

"She's evil," I said flatly. "Twisted."

"I agree, but Harry, Rosie… you _must _tell Dumbledore your scars hurt," Hermione urged once again.

"No. We're not bothering him with this. My scar was hurting all summer-"

"Harry, I'm sure Dumbledore _would _be bothered by this-"

"Yeah," said Harry, before he could stop himself, "that's the only bit of me he does care about, isn't it, my scar?"

"Harry!" I shrieked, my hair turning bright pink in surprise. He has never spoken of Dumbledore like that before. "You know that's not true!"

Harry looked down at the ground, his jaw clenched. I took a deep breath, but my hair was still pink.

"Look," I said softly. "Let's go and write to my dad, maybe he can-"

"No!" Hermione shrieked, "You can't say that in a letter! You know what Moody said, the owls could be getting intercepted!"

Harry and I stayed silent, running out of ideas. Our heads were spinning. Why did our scars hurt when she touched us? I was feeling nauseous just thinking of all the different possibilities.

"Right, I'm going to go to bed now," said Harry irritably, before getting to his feet.

"Oh no," said Hermione, looking relieved, "if you're going that means I can go too, without being rude. I'm absolutely exhausted and I want to make some more hats tomorrow. Listen, you can help me if you like, it's quite fun, I'm getting better, I can do patterns and and bobbles and all sorts of thing now."

I looked at her face, which was so full of glee that I just couldn't say no.

"Um, yeah - okay," I mumbled, sitting down next to her and picking up some wool. Harry, though, looked as though he wasn't very tempted.

"Er… no, I don't think I will, thanks," he said. "Er - not tomorrow. I've got loads of homework to do…"

And he traipsed off to the boys' stairs, leaving Hermione looking quite disappointed.

"I know that's not true," she whispered, "because I did all his homework for him last night."

**Author's Note - Hiya, sorry this is short, I promise the next one will be longer!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

About a month or so later, I was walking down the corridor to the Gryffindor Common Room when I got stopped by Alice.

"What do you want now?" I asked angrily. Her and that bloody family of hers were not leaving me alone for the past few weeks. Apart from Edward, who had decided to sulk in his room.

"I just had a vision..." she said in a dreamy voice, reminding me of Luna Lovegood. I looked at her, bored.

"Good for you," I said flatly. "Maybe now we can see if the zombie apocalypse is _really _going to happen -"

"No, this is serious!" she said impatiently. "I just had a vision of a vampire sniffing _your _red blouse!"

I looked at her weirdly. "I don't own a red blouse."

"You didn't. But Bella Swan did."

I looked back in my memories, trying to figure out what she was talking about.

"Oh!" I breathed. "You mean that disgusting red blouse that was in Bella Swan's old wardrobe!"

"Yeah," she said sadly. "I tried to get you to get rid of it for ages, but you wouldn't listen!"

I huffed at her. "I know it was gross, but I had a reputation to keep up! Anyway, you saw a vamp sniffing it?"

She nodded, and I tapped my chin with my forefinger.

"Hmmm," I said in slight relief. "At least it wasn't a _nice_ blouse."

"You're not taking this seriously!"

"No, I'm not," I agreed. "You know why? Because I can easily kick a vampire's arse without any trouble."

"You don't understand, Bella!"

"Rosie," I corrected.

"You don't understand, Rosie! He's creating a newborn army! And there going to arrive at Forks in about five weeks time!"

I stared at her. "Shit." Was my simple answer.

"Exactly -"

"Now if you don't mind, I need to be getting to my friends. Don't do anything about the vampires, I'll handle it."

I jogged to the Common Room nearly beheading a small first year with my bag. Hey, I was in a rush, alright?

"Harry! Ron! Mione!" I said breathlessly. They didn't even look up from their homework. Thanks for the greeting, guys.

"I'm in trouble!" I blurted out, and their heads snapped up.

"Of course you are," Hermione waved off the idea. "Voldemort is after you."

"No! This isn't about Voldy!"

"Who, then?"

I was aware of all of them looking at me curiously. I gulped.

"I may, or may not, have an entire vampire army after me."

They just stared, before Ron blurted -

"You're bloody joking."

"No, Ronald. I'm not."

Harry groaned. "Why is it always you?"

I patted his head. "Because I'm the Girl Who Lived. That's why."

He rolled his eyes and attempted to stay calm. "When are they coming?"

"Five weeks."

They all groaned simultaneously.

"Don't worry!" I quickly reassured. "It won't be hard for me to defeat them all. I'll just put a ring of fire around them or something."

"You're not going on your own!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes I am."

"No you're not!"

"I think you will find, that I am."

She looked at me in anger.

"Just drop it, guys."

They sighed, but nodded.

We all sat in silence, the only sound was our quills scribbling along the parchment.

"I'm going to go for a walk," declared Harry, and I nodded.

"I'll come with you."

I followed him out onto the Hogwarts Grounds and we walked into the Forbidden Forest.

"Why are we here?"

He shrugged. "It helps me think."

I looked around the place and discovered that it was actually very beautiful.

"I guess this place is sort for beautiful. Once you get past the fact that there are werewolves and Merlin knows what else in here."

He chuckled lightly, then stopped abruptly.

"Who's that?" he asked, pointing at a girl with dirty blonde hair in the distance. I grinned, recognizing her instantly.

"That's Luna."

His eyes flashed with recognition, and we walked towards her. As we got closer, we saw that she was throwing apples at a weird looking creature. It was like a horse, but skeletal, with slimy greyish skin stretched out over it's bones. It also had wings.

"Hello, Harry Potter and Rosie Black," she greeted, without even turning around. I shared a glance with Harry, and then my eyes flashed to the back of her head, expecting to see big silvery dreamy eyes there.

"Your feet. Aren't they cold?" asked Harry, pointing at her bare feet which were covered in leaves and mud.

"A bit," she nodded. "Unfortunately, all of my shoes have disappeared." She suddenly leaned forward and whispered, "I suspect Nargles are behind it."

I stifled a laugh and nodded along with her.

"What are they?" I asked, pointing at the weird bony creature in front of her.

"Thestrals," she said fondly. "They're quite gently, really, but people avoid them because they're a bit -"

"Different," finished Harry. Luna nodded, and walked up to a baby Thestral, throwing an apple at it's feet - or paws? Whatever they are.

"But why can't others see them?" asked Harry interestedly, walking up to stand beside Luna. I mirrored his movements.

"They can only be seen by people who've seen death," she explained, petting it.

"So... you've known someone who's died, then?" Harry asked slowly, not wanting to offend her.

"My mum," Luna nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"Yes, it was rather horrible actually. I do feel very sad about it sometimes, but I've got Dad," she said, smiling.

She picked up the apple from the floor and threw it at the baby Thestral again, urging it to eat it. It simply sniffed the apple and backed up, shaking it's head.

"We believe you, by the way," she informed, looking at Harry and I. "That He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, and you fought him, and the Ministry and the Prophet are conspiring against you."

"Thanks," said Harry gratefully. "It seems that you and your dad are the only ones that do."

"I don't think that's true," said Luna, shaking her head. "But I suppose that's how he wants you to feel."

I looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"Well, if I was You-Know-Who, I'd want you to feel cut off from everyone else because if it's just you two alone you're not as much of a threat," Luna said wisely, tilting her head to the side.

"You're very wise," I smiled at her. I really liked Luna.

"I think it's because I was bitten by a gnome before I came to school," she told me before pulling out a piece of steak from her bag and throwing it at the baby Thestral, who gobbled it up gratefully.

I shared a glance with Harry before we chuckled at the comment. We spent a while with Luna and the Thestral before we eventually walked back up to the castle.

I smiled. Somehow, with Voldemort and an entire vampire army after me, It looked as thought things were looking up.

**A/N - Yes, I'm alive! I finally found my Order of the Phoenix book so I'm now able to update regularly. It will probably every week or so because I'm back in school now and I have my Science GCSE's in about three weeks time. Aaaargh.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I should have known that the good things weren't going to last.

About a week after mine and Harry's conversation with Luna, we discovered that Umbridge was declared the new Hogwarts High Inquisitor and could therefore make any pointless rules and interrogate all the teachers about their qualifications. She's banned us from doing any magic anywhere, made us all wear our uniforms correctly, banned all the Weasleys' Joke Shop products, and couples weren't allowed to stay close to their partner.

On top of that, I've also spent the past week trying to avoid the Cullens who were adamant on not letting me go anywhere alone. I've tried to tell them countless times that Hogwarts is the safest place in the country, but they weren't budging. I've had Alice on my heels everywhere I go telling me to be cautious of the 'mystery guy' who got my blouse, and I could swear I've seen Edward watching me in the shadows.

Bloody creep.

So anyway, Ron, Harry, Hermione and I were now standing in front of the Great Hall watching as Filch put up another rule on the wall.

"She made Trelawney cry today," I muttered to no one in particular.

"I don't like Professor Trelawney or her teaching," commented Hermione, looking away from the wall. "But that's just cruel."

I was about to reply when we saw a huddle of students rushing outside.

"What's going on?" asked Harry as he jogged up to Cho Chang. I narrowed my eyes. I've never liked her.

"It's Professor Trelawney," was all she said, before catching up to her strawberry blonde friend, Marietta Edgecombe.

We all looked at each other and followed the mass of students outside. I could sense the Cullens behind me and inwardly growled. It annoyed me to no end that they still think I'm defenceless.

We reached the courtyard and leaned on the railings, watching as Umbridge was talking to a crying Trelawney.

"Sixteen years I've worked and lived here," said Trelawney, her voice quivering. "Hogwarts is my home. You can't do this!"

"Actually," said Umbridge triumphantly, holding up a piece of paper, "I can."

"Bitch," snarled Rosalie from behind me and I smirked.

Professor McGonagall swept up behind Trelawney and pulled her into her arms, where the Divination Professor was now sobbing into her robes.

"Something you'd like to say, dear?" inquired Umbridge.

"Oh, there are several things I would like to say!" snarled McGonagall, and I mentally cheered.

Umbridge was about to reply when suddenly, almost as if out of nowhere, Dumbledore appeared and I sighed in relief. Everything was okay as long as Dumbledore was around. He stood in front of Umbride where they were now having a stare down.

"Professor McGonagall," he said kindly, without looking away from Umbridge. "Might I ask you to escort Sybil back inside?"

Trelawney burst into another round of tears, except this time, they were tears of gratitude. She seemed speechless as McGonagall took her shaking hands and led her towards the school.

"Dumbledore," Umbridge began, scowling, "may I remind you that under the terms of Educational Decree 23, as enacted by the Minister -"

"You have the right to dismiss my teachers, you do not, however, have the authority to banish them from the grounds. That power remains with the Headmaster."

"For now," said Umbridge, smiling, before she walked away.

"Don't you all have studying to do?" exclaimed Dumbledore before heading back to his office, with Harry chasing after him.

"That was eventful," I said flatly, glaring at the restreating back of Umbridge.

"That woman is vile!" exclaimed Esme at Carlisle's side. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Trust me, there are people worse than her."

"Like who?" she gasped, as though the thought of someone worse than Umbridge was horrifying.

"Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, all Death Eaters in general..." I trailed off, and shuddered when I realized that I was related to most of them.

"Well, we'll do anything to help you fight them, dear!" she said firmly, Carlisle nodding beside her.

"You may not be with Edward anymore, Rosie, but you are still a part of this family."

"Thank you," I said sincerely, and I realized that this was the most civil I've acted towards them since they've came here. "But sometimes, we just have to fight on our own, I hope you understand that."

"Well if you were to just get back together with Edward -" began Alice, hopefully.

"No, Alice!" I said exasperatedly. "No! Edward and I, we will never happen, ever! We're too different! He needs the girl next door type, not someone like me, who is the daughter of a convicted mass murderer and fighting against the most evil wizard known to the entire wizarding world!"

I finished my rant breathing heavily, and looked behind me wearily. I closed my eyes and groaned. Edward was standing right behind me.

"Love -"

"Don't call me that!" I snapped. He looked down sorrowfully, giving his family a pointed look. They seemed to have gotten the message as they quickly walked away, leaving me alone with him.

"Look, Bella -"

"No you listen to me, Edward Cullen," I said firmly. "I've been trying to tell you for the past few months that I have no interest in you whatsoever, and to be honest, I still don't know why you are still chasing after me. You have told me back in Forks about how lonely you were before I came and I pity you, I really do. But if you were so desperate not to be alone you wouldn't have left me in the first place. Also, I don't see why you are still grovelling at my feet and continuously getting rejected when you could easily walk away now by doing something useful and actually looking for your future mate, because I can assure you she is not me."

I kept my gaze locked with his throughout my entire speech, desperate to get my point across. After staring at me for a while, his shoulders slumped, defeated.

"Okay," he said dejectedly. "I understand. I really do. I suppose I was just embarrassed at getting turned down all the time, that I was trying even harder. And you're right. I should be looking for my future mate."

There was a bit of awkward silence after that so I just patted his shoulder reassuringly and smiled before walking off.

"Oh, and Edward," I called over my shoulder. "The name's Rosie. Not Bella."

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were currently sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room. Well, Harry, Ron and I were anyway. Hermione was currently pacing the room muttering angrily.

"That foul, evil, old gargoyle!" she hissed. "We're not learning how to defend ourselves, we're not learning how to pass our O.W.L.s. She's taking over the entire school!"

Harry was about to reply when a strange sound came from the fireplace.

"Dad!" I said happily, falling to my knees to get closer to the fire.

"Sirius!" grinned Harry. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello," he ginned at Ron and Hermione, before looking at me and Harry. "I'm answering your letter. You said you were worried about Umbridge. What is she doing now? Training you to kill half-breeds?"

"Dad," I sighed. "She's not letting us do magic at all."

He looked sympathetic. "Well I'm not surprised. Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat."

"Combat?" asked Ron. "What does he think we're doing? Creating a wizard army?"

"That's exactly what he thinks," Sirius replied dryly. "He thinks that Dumbledore is trying to overtake the Ministry."

"That's ridiculous!" I shouted, casing Hermione to hush me. "Dumbledore is perfectly happy here at Hogwarts! He doesn't give a shit about ruling the Ministry!"

"I know," he sighed. "But that's what he thinks. Fudge is blocking the truth at any turn, refusing to believe that Voldemort is back, though the Order definitely know he is. People are disappearing left and right. He's on the move."

"What can we do?" asked Harry determinedly, and I grinned at my best friend. He truly is the bravest person I've ever met.

Sirius was about to answer when he choked "Hold on!" and disappeared.

I screamed as I saw a short hand with chubby fingers reach out of the fireplace. We all jumped back, me barely missing her fingers around my wrists.

It was Umbridge!

I froze with fear as I realized she nearly caught Sirius. I wouldn't know what I would do if he got sent to Azkaban again, and I highly doubt Fudge will believe us if we say he's innocent. He didn't believe us in third year, so why would he believe us now?

A loud clap of thunder made us all jump again, our nerves and senses on high alert. Hermione looked out the window thoughtfully.

"He's really out there, isn't he?" she asked, referring to Voldemort. Harry and I nodded grimly.

"Saw him with our own eyes," I said flatly.

There was another beat of silence before Hermione spoke again. "We've got to be able to defend ourselves," she said aggressively. "And if Umbridge refuses to teach us, we need someone who will!"

She looked over at me and Harry, her cinnamon brown eyes darting between us. "Isn't it obvious? I'm talking about you two!"

"What?" was all Harry said.

"You two are The Children Who Lived. You'll be perfect for it. You've faced V-voldemort four times, now!"

"Technically, it was only twice," I told her. "The first time was when we were babies, and we didn't actually do anything. And the Chamber of Secrets don't really count either, considering it was just a memory of him."

She shrugged. "But you've still faced him more times than the average wizard has. Anyway, back to the point. We need you two to become our new DADA teachers!"

I looked at Harry who still hasn't said a word.

"But," Harry said slowly. "This won't work. Everyone thinks we're nutters."

"Well, put it this way," said Ron cheerfully. "You two can't be worse than that old toad face."

I rolled my eyes, and said sarcastically, "Thanks, Ron."

"I'm here for you."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Ron, Harry, Hermione and I were standing in the Hogs Head in front of a massive group of students. They were all talking quietly but when Hermione stepped up, they all went silent instantaneously. I also noticed the Cullens minus Esme and Carlisle sitting at the back.

"Um, hello," began Hermione nervously, clutching a quill and piece of parchment in her hand. "You all know why we're here... we need a teacher. A proper teacher."

"Why?" asked a git known as Zacharias Smith from Hufflepuff.

"Because You-Know-Who's back, you tosspot!" Ron retorted, and I grinned.

"So they say!" Smith scowled, pointing at Harry and I.

"So Dumbledore says," Hermione added.

"So Dumbledore says because they say! The point is, where's the proof?" he hissed, his voice rising. I stood up and faced him.

"Oh, I don't know," I hissed sarcastically. "Maybe it has escaped your notice that Cedric Diggory bloody died last year! How do you explain that, then?"

He did nothing but glare at me, and I smirked smugly at him.

"If you could just tell us how Diggory died..." trailed off another boy.

"No," said Harry immediately. "We're not going to talk about Cedric, so if that's all your here for, clear out, now."

There was silence after that, until Luna broke it.

"Is it true you two can cast a Patronus Charm?"

"Yes," Hermione answered for us, proudly. "A stag and black dog."

"Blimey, guys! I didn't know you could do that!" said Dean excitedly.

"And they killed a basilisk with a sword in second year!" added Neville.

"Third year, they fought off a hundred Dementors at once!" contributed Ron, and I winced at the memory of the cloaked figures going for my Dad.

"And last year, they really did fight off You-Know-Who in the flesh," said Hermione.

"Look!" said Harry and I ominously. Then Harry said, "Look, it all sounds great when you put it like that, but most of that was just luck! We had help nearly all of the time!" I nodded in agreement.

"They're just being modest," said Hermione to the group.

I stayed silent, but Harry spoke again. "No! We're not! You don't know what it's like, seeing your friends die before you eyes. It's different in school, if you do a mistake you can just start over again, but when your life is on the line..."

He trailed off, and there was an awkward silence before Hermione spoke again.

"You're right," she said quietly. "We don't know what it's like, that's why we need you two to help us."

"He's really back?" gasped Colin Creevey. Harry and I nodded grimly.

"Well, where can we sign up?" asked the Weasley Twins.

Harry and I looked at each other and smiled hesitantly.

A small group of us, including Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Fred, George, Ginny and I were walking back from Hogsmead, excited with the prospect of our new group.

"Where can we do it?" asked Ginny.

"The Shrieking Shack?" offered Hermione. We all shook our heads.

"It's too small," said Harry thoughtfully. "The Forbidden Forest?"

"Not bloody likely!" said Ron, horrified. I laughed, knowing he was thinking of Aragog.

"What if Umbridge finds out?" asked Neville nervously.

"Who cares?" cried Fred, George, and to our surprise - Hermione.

We all looked at Hermione with baffled expressions.

"It's exciting, isn't it?" she grinned. "Breaking the rules!"

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" said Ron in awe.

"Well, at least we know something positive happened today," she said, ignoring Ron.

"And what's that?" asked Harry. She looked at him smugly.

"Cho couldn't take her eyes off you, could she?"

I made a small noise of protest in the back of my throat. It wasn't as if I fancied Harry... Merlin no. He's like my brother. But I didn't trust Cho Chang at all... especially that strawberry blonde friend of hers... what was her name again? Oh yeah, Marietta something.

Harry looked at me weirdly, probably wondering what the hell that weird noise was. He just shrugged and continued walking back to Hogwarts.

"Remember, we need to find somewhere we can have the meetings - somewhere that no one will find," he reminded, and we all nodded.

"Bella, have you figured out what you're going to do with the vampires yet?" asked Alice from beside me. I was walking from the Great Hall when she ambushed me.

"Yes, Alice," I lied. Truthfully, I haven't given the vampires a second thought. I've been to bust trying to find somewhere suitable for our group.

"You're lying," she said, golden eyes narrowed. I huffed at her.

"Look, Alice," I sighed in frustration. "There's nothing I can do, not until they go to Forks anyway. Which is...?"

"In a few weeks," her eyes zoned out, no doubt having a vision. "There's snow on the ground... probably a few days after Christmas."

I nodded absentmindedly. "Well then, I'll just go to Forks after Christmas then."

"You need help with this, Bella," she said in annoyance.

"No I don't!" I snapped. "All I have to do is use my wand to Stun them, and then use Diffindo or Bombarda to blow up their useless bodies, and then set them on fire!"

"Yes, and I'm sure that's easy when there's twenty-odd vampires against you!" she said exasperatedly. "You need help!"

"Fine!" I huffed. "You and the Cullens can come along. But no friends of mine ar coming, they have enough to deal with."

She grinned, clapping her hands. "Excellent. When I see them coming to Forks I'll contact you, and then we'll meet up at your old house."

"Fine, fine," I reassured. "Can I go now?"

She said nothing but bounce off to Jasper, so I took it as my cue to leave. I was walking down the seventh floor corridor when shouting and pounding of footsteps caught my attention.

With my wand in hand, I turned around the corner to see Crabbe and Goyle hunched over, their breaths heaving. I looked at them in disbelief.

"What the hell have you been doing?" I asked, putting my wand back in my pocket.

"Chasin' after Longbottom," they grunted. I narrowed my eyes.

"Right... and which way did he go?"

"He was 'ere!" said Crabbe, gesturing around him. "Bu' he jus' disappeared."

"Okay," I said in confusion. "Now leave."

They looked at me and sneered.

"You can' tell us wha' to do!" grunted Goyle. I raised my wand and pointed it to his face. He gulped, and they quickly scurried off.

"Neville?" I called hesitantly. I heard footsteps to my left and spun around to see Neville coming out of a random door on the wall.

I gaped as the door dissolved into the nothingness.

"What the bloody hell was that?" I shrieked. He shrugged.

"I don't know," he said shakily. "I was running from Crabbe and Goyle and I was thinking of a place to hide, and then this door appeared."

I looked at the bare wall for a few seconds and then grinned, clapping Neville on the back.

"Well, Nev," I said, still grinning. "I think you've just found a place for the meeting."

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	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I whistled innocently, looking around the library as the entire Cullen clan glared at me.

"Bella," snapped Alice. "The vampires are coming to Forks in _one week. _What are you going to do? Dumbledore just reminded me that spells just rebound off us, so hexing them isn't an option!"

"I know, Alice!" I snarled at her, causing Jasper to narrow his eyes at me. Oooh, touchy, touchy. I rubbed my temples. "I _did _have a plan - until I remembered that my magic doesn't work on them. Not to mention I've been busy with the DA!"

It was true. I've been spending all my free time in the RoR with the DA, the nickname for 'Dumbledore's Army', or in the library catching up on homework. It is my OWL year, after all.

"So what are you gonna do?" asked Emmett, his arm around Rosalie. I pursed my lips.

"Well, considering you all want to help me..." I trailed off, deep in thought. "Maybe I could use Fiendfyre and produce a ring of fire around them in the clearing... and you can jump in and rip them to pieces, throwing them in the fire!"

I grinned at my amazing thinking. Alice and Edward nodded.

"Yes, but, how are we going to get in the ring of fire?" asked Edward. I smirked at him.

"I'm a witch, remember? I'll just make a passage for you."

Esme sighed tiredly. "I wish you didn't have to go through this, dear..."

"I've had much worse, trust me," I admitted, thinking of fourth year when Voldemort was reborn. It was the scariest night of my life.

"So it's set," Rosalie confirmed. Jasper nodded at his 'twin sister'.

"We have one week..."

After a few more minutes of talking strategy and plans with Jasper, I stood up and stretched.

"I've got to go to the DA meeting," I yawned. "Quite unfortunate, really. I would love nap..."

I slugged slowly down the corridors, groaning as I felt a headache coming on. Why can't my life just be simple, for once? Ha, what a joke. I'm the Girl Who Lived. My life will never be easy.

When I walked into the room, Cho Chang immediately sent me a glare.

"Why are you late?" she demanded, before sending an adoring look at Harry. "Harry's been waiting for you."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind. I'm his _favourite _person, after all."

I smirked triumphantly as her olive skin turned a blotchy red. I smiled sweetly at her and made my way over to my best friend.

"So what spell are we working on?" I asked him from behind in his ear, causing him to jump comically.

"Don't do that!" Harry gasped, and then recovered. "We're doing Stupefy today. Shall we start now?"

I nodded, and he stepped in front of the room to address everyone.

"Today we're going to learn Stupefy. I know that most fourth and fifth years know how, but there's a few third and second years who need to learn it."

He began walking around the room. "The effects of Stupefy is, um, caused by the amount of power you put behind the spell."

He nodded to me, and taking it as my cue, I stepped forward.

"In my opinion, the best way to put as much power behind the spell as possible is to imagine the effect you're going to inflict on your opponent. For example, say I wanted to Stupefy Harry now, I would mentally picture Harry being thrown backwards while saying the incantation."

A few people muttered to themselves and screwed their face up in thought, obviously picturing a Death Eater being thrown backwards and unconscious on the floor.

"Okay, now Rosie and I will, er, demonstrate."

We both stood on opposite ends of the platform which just appeared, and raised our wands. Harry spoke.

"Rosie will be Stunning me first."

I raised my wand a little higher and addressed the students. "Remember to picture the effects on your opponent. _Stupefy!"_

A red light shot out of my wand and hurtled towards Harry, who was thrown backwards a couple of feet, lying in a heap on the floor. Cho immediately glared at me and I smirked at her.

Harry stood up and brushed his clothes, grinning at me. "That was brilliant, now I want you all to do what we just did. Remember to picture it in your mind. Get into partners, everyone!"

People immediately went to their friends to team up, and I grimaced when I saw Cho Chang fight through the crowd, determined to work with Harry. With the way this is going, I wouldn't be surprised if she stayed behind asking him for 'extra private lessons'. Getting an evil thought in my mind, I quickly ran up to Harry before she could get there.

"Hi, Harry," I beamed innocently, ignoring the fuming Cho Chang a few feet away. "Want to partner with me?"

He grinned and raised his wand. "Stupefy!"

I dodged the red light and threw my own Stunner at him. He dodged it and threw another one my way. I shielded myself using Protego, a spell we taught the DA a few days ago.

The duel went on back and forth, a few people stopping their own practices to watch us and others still working hard, trying to copy us and get it right. I was so preoccupied with looking at the other students that I didn't notice Harry fire a Stunner in my direction. My eyes widened in surprise when I was flown backwards, landing hard on the floor beneath me. I moaned and sat up in a sitting position, rubbing my arm.

I caught Cho's eye who was smirking smugly at me, before feigning worry when Harry looked at her. He walked over and grabbed my hand, lifting me up.

"Nice one, Potter," I grunted, not meeting his eyes. He grinned.

"I take it you're a sore loser?"

"I'm not!" I snapped, stomping over to Ron.

"I did it!" he said excitedly. "I disarmed Hermione!"

My eyes widened in disbelief and turned to Hermione, who flushed angrily.

"It was a lucky shot, that's all..."

"Yeah, yeah," smirked Ron smugly. "I finally disarmed you, don't deny it."

"You only disarmed me once!" she said hotly. "I disarmed you at least five times -"

"We get the point," glared Ron, causing me to laugh.

I searched for Harry and saw him chatting with Cho Chang. She batted her eyelashes and trailed a small hand down his arm, causing me to bristle with anger. Could she be any more obvious? I looked at Marietta Edgecombe, who looked just as displeased with her friend as I am.

"Can you believe her?" I whispered furiously at Ron and Hermione, jerking my head in Cho's direction. Ron looked at the scene and blanched.

"Why is she stroking him?" he asked, alarmed. Hermione burst into a fit of giggles.

"She's not stroking him, Ron!" she choked. "She's flirting with him!"

"Flirting!" I scoffed in disbelief. "More like _throwing _herself at him! Cedric only died last year, as well..."

"Exactly!" said Hermione, who had finally stopped laughing. "Don't you think she deserves some happiness?"

Her cinnamon brown eyes were suddenly fierce, and I started shifting under her gaze.

"I'm just saying," I protested. "She hasn't been _that _much of a wreck... and I've gone through way more that she has and you don't see me grovelling at boys' feet -"

"That's because you're _you," _Ron pointed out.

"And what exactly does _that _mean?" I defended. He recoiled.

"I'm just saying that you're _Rosie Black... _you would never grovel at a boy's feet..."

I immediately relaxed, and patted his ginger hair. "You do have a point, Ronniekins."

**A/N - Sorry this chapter is quite short. I'll try and make the next one longer. Please review! It gives me more motivation to write :)**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The DA meetings continued usually every other night or so, and everyone was improving greatly. Harry and I taught everyone how to stun, disarm, and greatly injure Death Eaters, and things were looking brighter. Unfortunately, though, I was finding it quite hard to concentrate in the DA and my classes because I was feeling anxious about the newborn vampire army approaching. There's only another week until Christmas Holidays, and a knot of anxiety has formed in the pit of my stomach. I knew that Harry could tell that something was up, but I never told him. I don't want him to think I'm weak.

"Thank Merlin for that," Ron yawned. "I thought that meeting was never going to end."

I nodded in agreement. The DA meeting was finally over, and it was our last gathering before we broke up for the Christmas holidays.

Ron, Hermione, the Cullens and I walked out of the Room of Requirement. It was then I realised someone was missing. "Hey, where's Harry?"

Hermione sent me a knowing look. "He's still in there with Cho."

"He's _what?" _I hissed. My hands clench at my hands. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh, honestly. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" I argued. "Hermione, she could be infecting him with her _slutty-ism _at this very moment!"

Emmett bursts out laughing, causing Rosalie to smack him in the arm to shut up.

"Don't be so mean, Rosie," said Hermione sternly. Ron opened his mouth to protest, but she sent him a glare.

"Don't you side with her, Ronald!"

"I was just going to say that Harry deserves better," he defended, and I send him a warm smile.

"Cheers, Ron."

Hermione scowled and started a conversation with Jasper and Alice, pointedly ignoring us. We got to the common room and I dived for the red sofa. I sighed in contentment.

"I wanna sleep," I mumbled to myself.

"No sleep. Homework," said Hermione sternly, dropping books on my lap.

"Hermione, you can't be serious!" Ron groaned.

"Hermione, we've just been duelling for like, two hours. Give us a break!" I said, half-asleep.

She was just about to retort when Harry walked in the common room, eyes glazed and looking... drugged up.

"Well, how was it?" asked Ron eagerly.

"Wet." Came Harry's short reply. I snorted.

"I mean, she was sort of crying," he explained further. I rolled my eyes.

"That bad at it, were you?" joked Ron, nudging Harry's side.

"I'm sure Harry's kissing was more than satisfactory," Hermione interjected. "Cho spends half of her time crying these days."

"You don't say?" I snorted, causing Hermione to glare at me.

"You'd think a bit of snogging would cheer her up," said Ron thoughtfully.

"Do you have any idea how she must be feeling?" exclaimed Hermione. "She must still be feeling distraught about Cedric, and then guilty because she kissed Harry and confused about who she likes more. And then she's worried her mum will be sacked from the Ministry because of Umbridge..."

She trailed off, and then Ron spoke. "One person couldn't feel all that! They'd explode!"

"Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon," Hermione snapped. There was silence, before we all burst out laughing.

It felt good to laugh again. I can't remember the last time we all joked about something. But Ron was wrong. It _is _possible. My life is far more complicated than Cho's and _I _didn't feel like exploding. And if Cho thinks that kissing Harry will tell her more about Cedric's death, then she obviously doesn't know him well. He would never open up about something like that. She's playing him like a bloody flute.

...

A few days passed, but nothing particularly eventful happened. We hadn't had another DA meeting, and everyone was just focusing on their OWL's. I had a few more detentions with Umbridge and my hand felt like it was about to drop off with all the stinging. I purposely ignored it, though. Umbridge will never have the satisfaction of seeing me in pain. I know Harry feels the same way, because I see him flinch every time he lifts his hand, but refuses to complain.

We all chatted in the common room, excited that the Christmas Holidays started tomorrow, and I had another discussion with the Cullen family about the newborn army. I was feeling a tad more confident now, but I was pretty sure that confidence would leave me as soon as the battle started. I kept on telling myself that I've been through worse. Thirty or so vampires will never be as dangerous as Voldemort, and I escaped him loads of times. Alice was also bragging with glee about how she finally conjured a Patronus Charm. Hers is a small butterfly, which I think really suits her.

We all head up to bed, and my head barely hits the pillow before I'm somersaulted into a vision.

_The door is there. The mysterious door I keep on seeing in the Ministry... I brace myself for the vision to end as it always did, but this time, I know it's different._

_The door opens, and I enter a strange room with numerous globes and high shelves with glowing lights... I've heard of this place... it's the Department of Mysteries._

_Arthur Weasley's walking in front of me, and it was then I noticed that I appear to be sliding across the floor. He has his back to me and his wand is raised. I hiss softly and he turns around, gasping in horror. I jump and bite into the flesh of his neck, attacking him again and again with my... fangs? For a second, I see myself reflected in his terrified blue eyes. It's a snake attacking him, but the eyes... the snake has violet eyes. My eyes..._

I scream and wake up, thrashing in my bed and panting loudly.

"Rosie! Rosie!" said Hermione in a shaky voice, but I don't listen to her. My scar is searing, and I smacked my hand over it in pain. My bed felt wet and I'm covered in sweat. Another sharp pain shoots through my scar, and I moaned in agony. I barely cooperate with Hermione who's trying to drag me down the common room.

"Miss Black, too?" said McGonagall worriedly. Hermione gasped.

"You mean Harry..."

"Yes, Miss Granger. Mr Potter is also in the Headmaster's office with..." she trailed off and looked at me as I rubbed my scar in pain. "... Problems."

"Mr Weasley!" I gasped, and they both looked at me. "It's Mr Weasley! Professor, he's been attacked —"

"We have been informed," interrupts McGonagall.

They take me to Dumbledore's office, where Dumbledore himself is pacing worriedly.

"Where's Harry?" I demanded as soon as I walked in the room.

"I believe he is at Grimmauld Place."

I open my mouth to ask if I can go, but he beats me to it.

"It would be wise if you and Miss Granger were to go, aswell. The Floo connections have been temporarily opened."

Hermione immediately thanks Dumbledore and McGonagall and grabbed my hand, leading me to the fireplace. Ignoring the stabbing pain in my scar, I picked up some Floo powder.

"12 Grimmauld Place!" I said loudly, and I'm greeted with green flames and a roaring sound in my ears.

I landed roughly on the hard floor of the living room, and found myself being lifted into a hug by my dad. As soon as I felt his comforting arms around me, my confused and pained expressions snapped, and I broke down crying in his arms. I don't know how long I stayed there, sobbing into his chest, but I eventually felt another set of arms which I identified as Harry's.

I finally stopped crying and I just laid there on my dad's lap, letting him rock me.

"Is Mr Weasley okay?" I said shakily.

"They got to him in time," said Harry thickly, and I feel guilty for not supporting him emotionally. He's distraught aswell.

"When can we see him?"

"Not tonight, love," said my dad soothingly. "You can see him tomorrow."

I was about to respond when a bright light caught my attention. I look up from my dad's chest to see Alice's butterfly Patronus flapping into the room.

"It's time," came Alice's voice. "The newborn army will arrive in approximately six hours."

Ah, crap. They couldn't have picked a better time.

**Author's Note - I'm sorry this took ages to be published! I wrote it down but then I accidentally erased it with a different story :( By the way, some of you are probably wondering why I'm not replying to your questions in the reviews. Truth is, for some reason it isn't letting me reply. So if you have a question, please PM me and I'll be sure to reply ASAP. Keep reviewing! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note - Sorry for the wait... again. I literally had about 48367643 exams this week and last week so I couldn't update.**

Chapter 18

I launched myself out of my father's arms and grabbed my wand which was in my pocket.

"What's going on?" my dad demanded, getting up onto his feet aswell.

"Long story," I grunted, running for the Floo. I was going to Floo to Bella Swan's house and make my way from there. It's a shame I can't Apparate yet; although I don't think you can Apparate to a different country anyway.

My dad yanked my arm back just as I was about to grab a fistful of Floo Powder. I turned around and saw Harry standing next to my dad, looking equally as confused.

"Dad," I begged. "Dad, I need to go! There's something I have to do, I'll be back soon."

"Newborn army?" he hissed. "Exactly what the hell is going on, Rosie?"

"None of your business," I snapped. He looked shocked for a second but recovered. I've never spoke to him like that.

"I'm coming with you," said Harry fiercely. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"You don't even know what I'm doing," I retorted, yanking my arm out of my father's grip. But I made no move to leave.

"I don't care," argued Harry. "It doesn't matter to me what you're about to do. I'm your best friend, I'll be with you the whole way."

My heart warmed, and for a second I felt incredibly guilty. But I shook it off. The Cullens are probably waiting for me in the clearing right now.

"I'm sorry," I blurted, running for the fireplace.

I leapt over a chair and scrambled to the pot of Floo Powder. My father and Harry were right behind me, so in an act of desperation, I raised my wand and regrettably stunned both of them.

They collapsed onto the floor with a bang, and I looked at them sadly.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, trying to erase their betrayed expressions out of my mind. I heard a bang from the next room and I knew that the Weasleys would be coming in any second.

I stepped into the fireplace, and the last thing I saw was Hermione's knowing and accepting expression from where she was standing in the doorway.

...

I let out a yelp as I was thrown out of the fireplace and onto the floor of the living room in Bella Swan's old house. I coughed and brushed my hair with my fingers, standing up and straightening my clothes. I got a firmer grip on my wand and made my way outside. I got passed the Anti-Apparation wards and closed my eyes, picturing the clearing in my head.

With a pop, I felt my feet slam onto the soft snow on the grass. I opened my eyes and saw the bright green trees of Forks surrounding me with snow glistening on the braches and leaves, and I suddenly felt a presence behind me.

Instinctively, I spun around and flicked my wand at the speed of a bullet into the intruder's face. Emmett's face.

"Oh, sorry Em," I apologised, lowering my wand.

"Can't be too careful," came Carlisle's soothing voice from behind Emmett. It was then I realised that the entire Cullen clan was there.

"How long?" I immediately asked Alice. I was hoping they would come earlier so I could get home quicker.

Her eyes glazed for a second. "They're closer. We've got three hours."

I huffed and sat down, ignoring the snow slowly melting into my clothes and on my skin. I could always use a Drying Charm later. If there was one thing everyone knew about me, it was my impatience. I don't like to be kept waiting, at all. So now, having to kill time for another three hours, I was losing my cool.

"Can't they come quicker?" I asked irritably to no one in particular, kicking some snow with my dragon hide boots.

No one answered me.

We sat there for what felt like days, and I felt my eyes drooping as the sun became more pronounced in the sky.

"They're here!" exclaimed Alice suddenly.

All feelings of tiredness evaporated and I leapt to my feet with the energy of Norberta the dragon. My wand was steadily aimed at the trees, and I was waiting for the hundred or so vampires to make a move and step out of the shadows. My hands started to feel sweaty with nervousness, but I swallowed the feeling down. I'm in Gryffindor for a reason. It's time to use that courage.

I nonverbally cast a Silencing Charm and muttered to the Cullens.

"Remember the plan. I'll put a ring of fire around them and quickly make a path for you to walk through. All you have to do them is tear them to pieces."

I heard mutters of agreement and undid the Silencing Charm just as I heard a crunch coming from the trees.

Victoria.

I hissed and bared my teeth, narrowing my eyes at her. She scanned our faces and came to a stop at my face. She furrowed her red eyebrows in confusion.

"Where's the human?"

I snickered and she shot me a look of loathing. To give her a hint, I made a show of flicking my hair and letting my scent waft to her nostrils. Her eyes widened and she snarled.

"Who are you? What are you? Where's the Swan girl?"

"Right here, Vicky," I said cheerfully, using my Metamorphmagi powers to change my face into that of Bella Swan's.

"How did you do that?" she growled, and stepped forward. I jerked my wand higher.

"Don't even try it," I said threateningly. She took a look at my wand and let out a little schoolgirl giggle.

"A stick?" she said using a baby voice, reminding me of my dear old sort-of cousin Bellatrix. "You gonna try and stop the big bad vampires with a stick?"

I refrained the urge to poke my tongue out, and merely shrugged.

"I could give it a go."

Her eyes flashed dangerously, and turning to the vampires hidden in the trees, she snarled –

"Kill them! All of them! Kill them all!"

About eighty vampires ran out of the clearing, and I swallowed rather nervously, preparing for the right time to use the spell. Just as they all ran out, I raised my wand and screamed –

"FIENDFYRE!"

A huge jet of fire flashed out of my wand, and I flicked my wand causing the fire to surround the utterly confused newborn vampires.

"What's going on?" several of them cried fearfully. I grinned and raised the wall of fire higher around them. A few turned to look at Victoria for help, but she herself was looking absolutely terrified as the ring of fire swarmed closer towards her. Trying to act brave, she turned her head to me and scowled.

"What are you? How are you doing that?"

I grinned at her. "You see, icky Vicky. I'm a witch. Simple as that."

Her eyes widened and she let out a nervous laugh, so different from the giggle she released earlier.

"There's no such thing!"

"Vampires are real," I smirked. "Why can't witches be real?"

Her crimson eyes flashed with fear, and she whimpered slightly as the fire was a hair's length away from burning her arm.

Ignoring the whimpers and cries of the other newborns, I turned to the Cullens.

"Now!" I shouted, letting out a tiny gap for the Cullens to walk through.

Before the other vampires could escape, the Cullens quickly walked into the ring of fire, determination and, in Emmett's case, excitement in their golden eyes.

I watched in glee as they tore and ripped apart several of the newborn vampires. Lots of them tried to beg for mercy, but they weren't giving in. Jasper looked reminiscent as he tore off the head of a blonde newborn, and I remembered that he was in the southern vampire wars. Rosalie and Alice looked slightly nervous but quickly tore a man's arm off. Emmett practically skipped around fighting anyone he could see, and Carlisle and Esme looked reluctant but determined. Edward merely looked indifferent, and kept an emotionless expression on his face.

Eventually, it was only Victoria left. I nodded at them in boredom, wanting to get home and see Mr Weasley and my father. And Harry, Ron and Hermione. They tore her limbs off and I made another pathway for them to get out of the fire. As soon as they were out I let the fire crash onto the severed limbs, turning them into nothing but ash.

I sighed in relief that I could go home, but a flash of white caught my attention. A newborn vampire leapt out of the trees and came towards me, teeth bared and growling.

"No!" howled Edward and Alice. The other Cullens made a move to stop him but were too slow.

The last thing I saw and felt was the vampire crushing my arm in an agonizingly tight grip, and the fire crashing down on him. I then felt the familiar feeling of Disapparation before everything went black.

**Author's Note - Hey, I hope you liked this chapter. I'll try and update when I can, but I think it'll be a while. Probably around two weeks. I have work experience all next week and the week after, I've got a Religious Education, History, Maths, Welsh, and French exam.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The first thing I could feel was a foggy mist swirling around in my brain. I knew I was awake, but my eyelids felt so heavy and I couldn't be bothered making the effort to open them. I tried to think back at what happened, and mentally growled at the stray vampire who attacked me. Obviously, the vampire must have been hiding in the trees the entire time before deciding to strike.

Then I was aware of the voices.

"When will she wake up?" I heard an exhausted and worried voice ask. My dad.

"She's actually awake," I heard an amused voice reply. Alice. I can almost picture her smirking. "She's just too lazy to open her eyes."

The grip on my hand tightened. "Rosie! Please, please open your eyes."

I refrained the urge from saying "can't be bothered". I don't think my dad will be too pleased with that. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and immediately regretted it.

"Someone turn off the lights," I groaned, the white beams practically burning like acid through my eyes. Behind my eyelids, it went considerably darker and I knew they finally turned them off.

I opened my eyes again and saw the grey eyes of my father. I expected him to look happy and pleased that I was _alive. _But I guesses I wished for too much.

He looked murderous.

_"What _in the name of Godric were you _thinking?"_

I gulped and answered sheepishly, "I don't know."

His eyes narrowed, but then he sighed. "You know what? I'm not even going to ask."

I grinned in relief, but it quickly dropped when I saw the very... Slytherin-like expression on his face.

"What?"

His smirk widened. "I can't stop Harry from interrogating you, though."

I groaned loudly. "He's going to kill me!"

His eyes hardened. "I should be killing you. How dare you stun me!"

I grimaced. "I'm sorry, Dad. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

He did nothing but quickly giving me a once over to see if I was okay, before storming off and muttering, "Desperate measures my arse," to himself.

I settled back down onto the bed, which I then realised was my room in Grimmauld Place. I barely had time to close my eyes before my bedroom door slammed open; revealing an absolutely furious Harry, with Hermione and Ron trailing after him.

The green-eyed boy stomped angrily to my bed, taking extra care to slam his feet onto the hard floor and make as much noise as possible. I tried to make my expression emotionless, but I was actually crapping myself. Harry's bloody terrifying when he's angry; even more so this year as Voldemort's playing with his emotions. Voldemort doesn't mess with me much, because I have Occlumency. It may be quite weak, but it's still there.

Harry roughly grabbed a chair and sat down next to my bed, grabbing my hand in a vice grip. Hermione and Ron followed his lead; Hermione with tears streaming down her face and Ron looking glum.

After a while of angry silence, Harry finally spoke.

"_What," _he began in a dangerously quiet voice, "the hell were you thinking?"

Slightly annoyed that he and my father said the same thing, I answered, "Did you and my dad plan this, or what?"

He ignored me. "I can't believe you Stunned me! When are you going to get it in your head that we're both in this _together?"_

I scoffed in disbelief. "Like you can talk, Harry! How many times have you tried pushing us away in dangerous situations?"

He opened his mouth to retort, but then closed it again and took on the expression of having sucked a sour lemon.

"Oh, Rosie," whimpered Hermione. "I knew what you were going to do, but you should have let us come with you..."

"Hang on," interrupted Ron. "You knew where she was going?"

Harry immediately shot Hermione a glare, and she shrunk a little. "Well, I had my suspicions, but I wasn't entirely sure..."

Harry sighed in annoyance and rubbed his temples. "Just... just tell us next time, okay, Rosie?"

Rosie nodded. "Yeah, anyway, what have I missed?"

"Dad is okay," said Ron. "And, well, we go back to school tomorrow... good thing you woke up, actually..."

"What?" I gaped. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"Around two weeks," said Hermione sternly. "You absolutely terrified us... and Sirius was nearly ripping his hair out—"

"Nah," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "He would never have ripped his precious hair out. He loves it too much."

She huffed. "That's not the point."

...

To Rosie's dismay, Umbridge was still there when she returned to Hogwarts.

"Why can't she just piss off?" she snarled. "I hate her. I hate, hate, hate her."

Umbridge was just as awful as she's always been. It seemed that the Christmas cheer hadn't lightened her up at all. Hermione was about to reply when an anxious looking Harry ran towards us eagerly.

"Hagrid's back!" he cheered. Ron came up next to him, breathing heavily.

"What?" I gasped, grabbing Hermione's hand and following Harry and Ron outside the castle.

"Out of my way!" I shrieked, knocking over a third year. I received several dirty looks while shoving people out of the way in my desperateness to see Hagrid again. I was extremely nosy and desperately wanted to know where he'd been.

Just as Hagrid's hut came into view, we saw the most hated woman on earth – apart from Bellatrix Lestrange – standing by the front door and talking to Hagrid, writing something on her beloved clipboard. I involuntary growled causing Hermione to slap her hand over my mouth in case the toad heard me.

"I am ordering you to tell me where you've been," she said, not noticing me, Harry, Ron and Hermione listening in.

"I told ya," Hagrid sighed. "I've been away for me health."

"Your health?" challenged Umbridge.

"Yeah," said Hagrid, shifting uncomfortably. "A bit o' fresh air, y'know?"

"Oh, yes," the toad mocked. "Because I'm sure, as Gamekeeper, fresh air is hard to come by. If I were you I wouldn't bother getting comfortable with being back – in fact, I wouldn't bother unpacking at all."

She gave him one last threatening glance before turning up her nose and walking back up to the castle. We came out from where we were hiding and quickly ran towards the hut, hoping she wouldn't notice us. Harry quickly knocked on the door and Hagrid appeared, looking slightly nervous. He immediately relaxed when he saw us.

"Oh, sorry," he said gruffly, letting us in. "Though' you were Umbridge."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically. "I personally thought I was quite good-looking."

Harry rolled his eyes at me before he launched into questioning.

"Hagrid, you look awful! Where have you been?"

It was then I truly looked at the half-giant. He had a massive black eye and a cut lip, and was holding up a raw piece of steak up to his face.

"I shouldn't tell you," he said, sitting in his chair opposite us. "But you'll fin' out anyway."

He leant forward a little. "Dumbledore sent me to talk to the giants."

"Giants?" exclaimed Hermione, her eyes wide. "You found them?"

"Well, they're not that hard to fin', they're so big, you see?" he pointed out. "Tried to convince 'em to join the cause, but it turns out I wasn't the only one tryin' to win them over."

"Death Eaters?" asked Ron, going pale.

"Yeah," said Hagrid, wincing as he pressed the steak harder to his face. "Tryin' to get them to join You-Know-Who."

"Did they?" I asked worriedly.

He shrugged. "I gave 'em Dumbledore's message," he sighed. "Some o' them remembered he was nice to them, I suppose."

"And they hurt you?" asked Harry, pointing to his face.

"Yes," he said stiffly.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack of thunder causing us all to jump. The rain started pouring heavily down onto the grounds, and Hagrid limped over to the window and sighed deeply, looking at the dark clouds.

"It's changin' out there... just like last time..." he looked back at us before resuming his stare out the window.

"There's a storm comin'... and we all best be ready when she does."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

We all tried to carry on in Hogwarts like normal, but it's hard when you have Umbridge breathing down your neck and accusing you of setting of Dungbombs in Filch's office. That was Fred and George's idea, not mine. Honestly. I'm going to kill them.

I haven't really interacted with the Cullens much this week. I think they're avoiding me to make things easier on Edward. He's not stalking me like a creepy weirdo anymore, but he's not really taking my advice to look for a mate either. I think he just needs time to recover. I suppose he's not used to people turning him down.

A few days ago, to my immense annoyance, Harry asked Cho out. She was positively beaming throughout the entire day and I wondered if she would start crying. I stubbornly ignored my best friend who was pestering me all throughout breakfast, so Hermione took it upon herself to glare at him for his obliviousness. Exactly how many times have I warned him not to go out with Cho? Too many times, that's for sure.

So here I am, sitting in the Great Hall, determinedly ignoring Harry who was trying to catch my attention, when a familiar Irish voice halted us.

"Harry! Rosie!"

We all turned around to see Seamus Finnigan standing up from the Gryffindor table. It caught a bit of attention, and a few people from the other houses tried listening in.

"I just wanted to say that I... er... that I'm sorry. And I believe you."

Harry and I instinctively touched our scars at the reminder of Voldemort. Harry looked ready to forgive him, but I merely glared at the sandy-haired Gryffindor.

"Oh yeah?" I said, folding my arms over my chest. "And why start believing now? Finally stopped listening to the Daily Prophet have you?"

Seamus shifted uncomfortably.

"Rosie," warned Hermione quietly. Ron prodded her gently in the ribs.

"She has a point," I heard him whisper to her.

"There's been a lot of murders this week," Seamus blurted out. "Most of them are Muggles. It made me realise that the Ministry aren't really telling us the truth... and with Umbridge..." he took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, Seamus," said Harry quickly. "Just forget about it."

"I can help, you know," he said, walking away from the Gryffindor table to walk over to us. "I can coax people into joining the D.A."

"That'd be great," I said, temporarily forgetting my anger at him. I heard Harry and Ron snort. "How many people?"

He shrugged. "I have a few friends in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw."

I nodded. "Great. That should help you make up for your ignorance."

"We'll be going now," said Harry loudly, taking my arm and dragging me away from Seamus. "Thank you, Seamus."

He merely nodded and turned to talk to Dean, while Harry rounded on me.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked, annoyed. I had to bite my cheek to stop my retort. "You were quite hard on him."

I looked at Harry in disbelief, and I was glad to see Ron taking my side.

"Harry, mate," started Ron slowly. "He's been insulting you two for weeks, blatantly ignoring the fact that Voldemort came back. I think what Rosie did was the right thing to do."

I smirked smugly at Harry who was massaging his temples.

"I know," he said. "I just don't want to start fighting again. Rosie and I have enough of that with Voldemort."

...

"Hello everyone," said Harry loudly at the next D.A. meeting. I was glad to see that Seamus kept his word, and we had at least nine new recruits.

"Today we're going to do something a little more fun," he said, and the room immediately broke out into excited whispers. Harry raised his hand for silence. "But that also means... that it'll be a really hard spell. A spell that even some grown wizards can't make."

A few people looked torn between feeling excited and worried. I smiled a little when I saw the determined looks in their eyes.

"Today, we will be learning..." paused Harry dramatically, and pointed at me.

Smirking and raising my wand, I said "Expecto Patronum!"

I smiled fondly when I saw the familiar big, black shaggy dog leap out of my wand and prance around the room. It's Padfoot. My father's Animagus form.

A few girls squealed and the boys grinned in excitement. This was the spell they had all been waiting for. And now we're finally going to teach them it.

"Okay, I said loudly, catching their attention. "Remember, to cast a Patronus Charm you have to think of your fondest memory – a really happy memory. Remember the feeling and let it fill you with joy. Okay then, off you go."

Harry and I watch on the sidelines as people's faces screw up with concentration, trying and failing to do it. We both look at each other helplessly. It's extremely hard to do and I would be surprised if even one person can accomplish it.

By the end of the lesson, a lot of people produced a silver mist and only one person cast a fully corporeal Patronus which evolved into a swan. Cho bloody Chang.

I plastered a fake smile on my face and congratulated her, but I can tell that she knew it was fake because she merely scowled at me.

I sighed. Maybe next lesson will be better.

**Author's Note – Sorry it's short, but I wanted to cut it off there to make the next chapter longer. I've recently read over my story and I cringe at how awful the first few chapters are. So what I'm going to do is rewrite them in the summer because I can't be bothered right now. I won't take the chapters down, I'll just write the replacement chapter and replace it with the previous one quickly.**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Think of your happiest memory, and allow it to fill you up," said Harry encouragingly at our next D.A meeting.

He was once again lecturing us on our Patronuses, as Cho Chang was the only one who managed to produce one last week. It was definitely getting better though. Padma Patil's usual silver wisp is almost evolving into a shape, and even Colin Creevey who is just a fourth year has managed to produce some silvery mist.

I closed my eyes, trying to picture my happiest memory. What was it? Meeting Harry, Ron, Hermione? Spending time with Draco? I mentally shifted through my memories, trying to think of one which would help me succeed in producing a Patronus. So far I had only achieved some wisps of silvery smoke.

It suddenly hit me like the Hogwarts Express.

My dad.

Of course.

Suppressing a smile, I remembered back to when I found out my father was innocent in third year and how he said that Harry and I could live with him. I remembered his smile when he recognised me. I remembered our first hug in thirteen years.

"Expecto Patronum!"

I gaped in shock as the usual wisp of silvery smoke turned into a full bodied wolf.

It raced around the room, catching the attention of other D.A members who stopped their practicing to look at my Patronus in amazement. I choked back a laugh as my wolf purposely knocked into Cho Chang's swan, before returning to me and standing by my side in pride and loyalty as my protector.

I shot a smug smirk at Cho who was staring at where her swan used to be in anger, and then beamed at Harry who grinned at me in pride. Hermione looked slightly jealous and closed her eyes, muttering to herself in determination, and Ron was staring at her without realising it.

Seeing as I managed to produce my Patronus, Harry let me wander around the room to help people. I was speaking words of encouragement to Parvati and Neville when there was a loud bang from the other side of the room. All conversations stopped, and everyone's heads swivelled around to look at the wall which appeared to be shaking.

The large mirror in front of the wall slowly started cracking. I whipped my wand in front of me, ready to repair it, when there was another loud bang and the mirror fell and smashed to the ground. Behind where the mirror was previously placed, there was a small hole.

A D.A member, Nigel if I remembered correctly, slowly walked towards it and leaned closer to take a peek.

"Don't worry, I'll make short work of this," I heard a familiar sugary sweet voice say. Umbridge.

"Bombarda Maxima!"

Harry and I both yanked each of Nigel's shoulders and threw him backwards just as the wall blew up. Several people shrieked and I gagged when a piece of rubble flew into my mouth.

I looked up and saw Umbridge, Filch, and several Slytherin students staring at us with satisfactory smiles. That wasn't what stood out for me, though. It was Draco, and he was looking at Harry with a devilish smirk.

He arrogance faltered slightly when he looked at me and saw that I was glaring at him.

"What are you waiting for?" bellowed Harry. "RUN!"

D.A members scrambled for their bags and sprinted for the other exit at the other side of the room. I grabbed a few people and firmly shoved them forward if they were taking too long, and I looked at Harry as we both ran after them.

"Who was it?" I snarled. "Who ratted us out?"

"I don't know," panted Harry. "But we'll think of that later."

"Yeah, if we're not bloody murdered by Umbridge," heaved Ron. I almost jumped. I had forgotten he was there.

"Shut up, Ronald!" said Hermione, sounding exhausted.

"Split up!" I said as I saw a few upcoming corridors.. I saw them all nod and run into different directions.

I swerved to the left, but just as I rounded the corner I smashed into a large body.

"Oomph!"

A large hand slapped onto my mouth, and I felt an arm go around my waist to turn me around before picking me up. I couldn't tell who it was, but judging by the large body I suspected it was Crabbe or Goyle.

Well, this is lucky.

...

The next few days were hell. Literally.

Umbridge was now the Headmistress of Hogwarts.

Dumbledore was now on the run from Fudge as he took credit for the D.A, something which Harry, Ron, Hermione and I all feel incredibly guilty for, and I was now sitting in the Great Hall with everyone from the D.A, writing lines using Blood Quills onto my hand. I was sort of used to it, but I felt incredibly sorry for the people who hadn't experienced this before and was now whimpering in pain.

I recently got into an argument with the Cullens as I shouted at Alice for not predicting Umbridge finding us. She claimed that she was too busy watching out for Edward who had apparently left Hogwarts to search for his mate.

That didn't satisfy me, though. I yelled myself hoarse before eventually being kicked out by Jasper who wasn't happy with me arguing with his wife. The other Cullens sided with him.

Whatever. I don't care. I have more important things to worry about, like not letting myself bleed to death.

Umbridge eventually let us go, and we split up from the other D.A members as they headed for their respected Common Rooms all the while they cradled their hands with a grimace. It was only Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Neville, Ginny and I who were left wandering the corridors to head for the Gryffindor Tower. I felt the blood slip from my hand and splatter onto the castle's floors, but I could care less. I felt a small amount of satisfaction knowing that Filch would have to clean it up.

We were just rounding the corner when I heard a sniffle. Cho Change walked up to Harry urgently with teary eyes and a frown. She looked pleadingly at my best friend.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I had no idea Marietta would sell us out—"

"It was her?" I nearly shouted. I knew we shouldn't have trusted her. "The snobby girl with burly hair? Your friend?"

Her teary eyes hardened. "She's not snobby!"

I snorted. "Don't delude yourself, darling. She looked at everyone as though they were scum on the bottoms of her shoes."

She opened her mouth to argue, but she looked back at Harry say he sighed heavily.

"She was just worried about her mum," she said quickly, trying to defend her friend's actions. "Her mum works in the Ministry, and she didn't want her to get in trouble."

I rolled my eyes. As if that was an excuse.

Harry apparently thought the same thing.

"So?" said Harry, beginning to lose his temper. "So does Ron's dad, and you don't see him ratting us out!"

Cho flinched. "I'm sorry—"

"Just forget it," growled Harry.

A few tears leaked from her eyes and she ran off, sniffling the entire way.

"Well that was interesting," said Ginny awkwardly.

I laughed.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N - Sorry it's been ages! I've got my English Literature GCSE on Tuesday and I've also just had my Science exams.**

Chapter 22

Hermione, Ron, and I were walking behind Harry cautiously as he stormed into the courtyard. Umbridge had given him another detention, and after the anger came the guilt. He was still upset about Dumbledore being missing.

"It's not your fault, Harry," I soothed him.

"Yeah, mate," piped Ron. "Even Dumbledore didn't see it coming."

"Besides," interjected Hermione. "If it's anyone's fault, it's our. We're the ones who came up with it."

"But I agreed," sighed Harry. "All of this effort... and it's just been made worse."

"Do you really regret it that much?" I said. "Harry, it may have gotten us in trouble now, but at the time it was brilliant. Now people actually have a chance to win a duel against Bellatrix Lestrange or... or Fenrir Greyback!"

Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement, but Harry just sighed again.

"Maybe it's just better to..."

"To?"

"To go it alone," he said quietly. "You'll all only get hurt otherwise."

We opened our mouths to protest, when we saw Hagrid waving us over from outside the Forbidden Forest.

"What does he want?" asked Ron.

"Don't know," replied Harry. "But maybe we should go and see."

Making sure that Umbridge hadn't suddenly appeared behind us, we quickly ran down the grounds and to the Forbidden Forest, checking over out shoulder every few seconds to see if any of the Inquisitorial Squad were watching us.

"What's wrong, Hagrid?" asked Harry.

Hagrid shifted nervously. "Jus' follow me."

We all gave each other a confused glance but complied. We slowly follows Hagrid as he went to the Forest, and Ron was glancing behind us in fright. Bless him. It was probably because of Aragog.

"And idea where he's taking us?" asked Ron quietly.

I shrugged. "No idea."

"Where are we going, Hagrid?" asked Hermione timidly.

Hagrid didn't answer.

Harry took out his wad cautiously, and we all followed his lead. As split second later, it felt as though the ground was shaking. I stumbled a little, and Harry grabbed onto my shoulder to keep me steady. We all looked to the source of the shaking and saw a massive herd of Centaurs running through the Forest angrily.

"I've never seen 'em this angry before," said Hagrid in awe, but when he spoke again there was some frost in his voice. "An' they can be really dangerous sometimes. If the Ministry keeps on restrictin' their territory they're goin' to be in so much trouble."

After a few more seconds of walking, Harry was starting to lose his patience.

"Where are we going, Hagrid?"

Hagrid sighed. I'm sorry for bein' so mysterious, you four. I wouldn' bother tellin' you at all... but now that Dumbledore's gone I'll probably be gettin' the sack any time now. An' I just couldn't leave without tellin' someone about him."

I felt the floor rumble and shake again, though it was much, much stronger this time. I looked up, and Hermione let out a small shriek as a giant came forward behind the bushes and trees. He was tied to a strong rope which was wrapped around the base of the tree.

"This is Grawp, me brother," explained Hagrid, a fond smile on his face. "Well, half-brother, but he's harmless, jus' a bit excited at the best o' times."

We all stared at Grawp with gaping jaws. Hagrid's... half-brother? What?

I screeched and jumped backwards as Grawp wrapped a huge hand around Hermione's tiny body, lifting her up into the air. Ron yelled and whipped out his wand, tripping over Harry's feet who was standing there in shock. Abandoning his wand, Ron ran up to Grawp and kicked him in the ankle, but the giant merely shuffled his toe forward and caused Ron to fall backwards.

Hermione screamed as she was lifted upside down, and Hagrid was yelling at Grawp to put her down.

"Grawpy! What did I say abou' pickin' people up? Put her down! This is your new friend, Hermione!"

The giant stared at Hagrid, but Hermione lifted her chin and defiantly stared Grawp in the face.

"Grawp!" she said commandingly. "Put me down! Now!"

Grawp looked at her, a bit crestfallen. He sighed heavily and carefully put her down, walking backwards and sitting down on a massive root of the tree.

Hermione ran towards Ron who hugged her in relief. Harry and I exchanged amused glances.

We watched as Grawp picked up what looked like handlebars of a bike. There was a little bell on it, and the giant flicked his finger causing it to make a tinkling noise. I had to suppress an "aw" as a huge, delighted smile spread across his face. He kept on flicking the bell in glee, as if it was the most fun and interesting thing in the world.

Hagrid sighed heavily and watched his half-brother with a smile.

"He gets his own food," he grunted, sniffling a bit. "It's jus' company he'll need. You guys will look after 'im, won't you?"

Hermione seemed to have forgotten about the incident earlier as she watched Grawp with a pleased expression. We all know how much she loved magical creatures. Harry seemed fine with it as well, and I didn't mind one bit. At least it'll keep our minds off the old hag.

Ron, however, didn't look as impressed. Oh well.

"Of course we will, Hagrid," said Harry firmly.

"It'll be fun," grinned Hermione. I just nodded.

Ron frowned and sighed heavily. "Yeah. 'Course, Hagrid."

Hagrid lifted us all up in a huge hug, thanking us repeatedly. Needless to say, it took about half an hour to get away from him.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The past few weeks had been awful.

Hagrid had been fired, and Professor McGonagall had been sent to St. Mungos due to the Aurors' multiple Stunners as she tried to defend Hagrid. Edward had finally decided to take my advice, and he left a few days ago to find his mate. The Cullens had been oddly subdued without him, and so they usually left me alone. Which was a good thing. I had a lot on my mind right now. Having detentions with the DA with Umbridge, having continuous nightmares... and not to mention the OWLS.

Harry had been extremely grumpy because of his Occlumency lessons with Snape. I thanked Merlin that I didn't need them. Talking about Snape, apparently Harry had found Snape's pensieve and nosily looked inside it, only to find out that Snape was friends with his mother and that his father was a bully. I knew that Harry had spoken to my father about it, and the talk seemed to cheer him up a little.

"Oh no," moaned Hermione mournfully. "Oh no, no, no, no. I think I wrote down the wrong answer in Ancient Runes!"

We were all currently in the midst of our OWL's, but I wasn't as stressed as the rest. The main reason was because I studied during my stay in Forks. I had charmed most of my Muggle books to hide the fact that they were notes on Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Astronomy, and History of Magic. I didn't even bother studying for Divination. Most of it was made up anyway.

The exams were stressful, to say the least. Despite knowing that I studied enough and that I knew almost everything, I was still incredibly nervous sitting in the Great Hall writing my theory on Transfiguration, or doing my practical in Charms. Potions was the worst as Snape practically breathed down our necks, but I ignored him and was confident that I had at least an E.

"You probably did great, Hermione," said Ron encouragingly. "And don't think too much about it now. We've got History of Magic in about an hour."

Harry, Ron and I rolled out eyes as Hermione's eyes hardened in determination. If she thought she answered a question incorrectly in Ancient Runes, then she was definitely going to make it up in History of Magic.

"Well, look on the bright side," I said, noticing Harry's and Ron's green faces. "This is out last exam! And then we're free!" I sang the last word, ignoring the looks around me.

There was one good thing about the OWL's though. I was so busy doing last minute studying that I almost completely ignored the throbbing pain in my hand from the Blood Quill in Umbridge's detentions. I can't say the same for the rest of the DA though. I saw several members walking around with bandages around their hands, their faces contorted with slight pain and discomfort. A few younger members even looked close to tears. Not Harry and I, though. We're so used to the pain by now.

Our scars were a different story.

They've been throbbing lately. And we could feel Voldemort's emotions flickering between the usual anger and disappointment, to sudden excitement and anticipation. It scared us. If Voldemort was happy about something then it surely wasn't a good thing. It was common for Hermione and Ron to walk in the common room to see Harry and I rubbing our scars as they prickled and burned. One time they were so bad that Harry screamed out loud and I fell to the floor, almost passing out.

The Cullens, despite still feeling the loneliness of Edward's absence, had been trying their best to be supportive. Carlisle had approached me numerous times after an episode with my scar to give me some Numbing Potions, and even some Dreamless Sleep Potions to try and tame my nightmares. Esme would send me concerned, motherly looks, and the rest of the Cullens would try and shoot me supportive smiles in the corridors.

So here I was, with the rest of the fifth-years, waiting outside the Great Hall to do our written History of Magic exam. I was usually one of the people who constantly fell asleep during class, so I studied extra hard for it in Forks. I made a point not to read the Goblin Wars, as I doubted there'd be hardly anything about it in the exam anyway. It would probably be things that Binns hadn't even taught us. I felt incredibly sorry for those who didn't bother to study.

Like Ron and Harry. Though I knew they didn't really care as they hated the subject anyway.

Just as Hermione was about to tear her hair out, the examiners came out and ushered us in. Everyone took a seat at their assigned desks, and I was annoyed that it was in alphabetical order, which meant that I was in the front row and Harry was way behind me.

One hour and twenty minutes into the exam, I thought I was doing quite well. There was forty minutes left, and clearly I had made the right decision in studying extra hard. And as I had predicted, there has not been one question yet about the Goblin Wars. I read over the next question, and my quill scribbled its answer.

Just as I finished, a searing pain shot across my forehead, and I fell right off my seat and onto the floor, unable to contain my scream. Black dots swirled my vision, and I could no longer see my classmates or the examiners around me. Instead, I saw my dad.

_"You're going to have to kill me," said my father defiantly, but then screamed as Voldemort tortured him with the Cruciatus Curse._

_It was then that I recognised the room. The Department of Mysteries, where Mr Weasley had been attacked._

_"Get it for me... get it for me..."_

I screamed loudly and shot up from where I was on the floor. I ignored the horrified expressions of my classmates and the examiners, and spun wildly to see Harry, also in the same position.

"We've got to help him, Harry!" I screamed, sobbing. I ran over to him, dodging the professors and examiners who were trying to grab me.

The room erupted into whispers, and the examiners were desperately trying to calm them down. Harry and I ran out of the Great Hall, along with Hermione, Ron, and Neville. I felt a swell of gratitude that the three of them would willingly leave their exam just to help us.

Harry and I raced to Umbridge's office, knowing that that was the only office where the fireplace wasn't blocked off. We had to get to the Department of Mysteries. Now. We met Luna and Ginny on the way, and I kept on running with tears streaming down my face as Harry explained what happened.

All of a sudden, there was a shriek and a loud bang as several of my friends were stunned by the Inquisitorial Squad. I hissed as I tripped to the floor, and then groaned as someone picked me up.

Feeling reluctant to fight anymore and knowing that we were screwed, I slumped against my captor, the tears falling into my mouth and tasting like salt.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

I looked around the room with dead eyes, watching as my friends struggled against the Inquisitorial Squad in Umbridge's Office. I couldn't hide my disappointment when I saw that Draco was one of them. He caught my hurt eyes and his superior smirk dimmed a little, but then it stubbornly returned when he saw Ron get punched in the arm by Goyle.

"What are you up to, Mr Potter?" asked Umbridge sweetly, walking around him like a shark.

Harry was currently tied to the chair, his green eyes still wide with panic. That was where we were different. My father was important to both of us, but whereas I felt defeated he was a fighter. And I both respected and envied him for that.

Harry said nothing, so Umbridge continued.

"You were going to see Dumbledore, weren't you?"

"No," said Harry immediately.

I gasped loudly in outrage when she slapped him across the face.

"You liar!" she spat, but before she could say more, the door opened revealing the second most hated professor in the school.

"You called, Headmistress?" drawled Snape. His obsidian eyes flickered with surprise when he saw Harry tied to the chair, and he could clearly see the bright red hand-shaped mark where Umbridge had slapped him. My blood boiled as he didn't even make the effort to help us.

"Ah, Severus," she said, pleased. "It is finally time for some answers. Have you brought the Veritaserum?"

"I'm afraid you used the last of it interrogating Miss Chang," said Snape with a raised eyebrow.

My eyes widened and I saw the others look down shamefully. We all felt suddenly horrible for how we treated Cho. Yes, I still didn't like her as she was blatantly using Harry, but I felt guilty for how I had a huge go at her when it clearly wasn't her fault.

"Unless you wish to poison him." His black eyes flickered to Harry and back. "And I assure you, I would have the greatest sympathy if you did, I cannot help you."

Snape made to leave, but I opened my mouth.

"He's got Padfoot!" I shouted desperately, ignoring Crabbe who jerked me backwards. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"

"Padfoot?" cried Umbridge in confusion. "What's a Padfoot? Where is it hidden? What's going on, Snape?"

Snape turned and looked me in the eye, and we held each other's gazes for a few seconds. I held my breath as he looked back at Umbridge.

"No idea," he said simply, before leaving out the door.

"Very well," said Umbridge, taking out her wand and fingering it lovingly. "You give me no choice, Potter." Her eyes flickered to me and then back to Harry. "I've always known you were the leader of your little gang. Even over Black. So it's only natural that you'd know more than her. Maybe the Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue."

"That's illegal!" exclaimed Hermione, while all the blood drained from my face.

"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him," she said, smiling. "He doesn't even know that it was I who sent the Dementors to Little Whinging last summer."

Mine and Harry's jaws dropped. It was her! She plotted to get Harry expelled, and probably would have done something to get me expelled straight afterward if she had succeeded to get Harry thrown out of Hogwarts.

Umbridge raised her wand to perform the Cruciatus Curse. I looked over at Neville who looked as white as a sheet, and I closed my eyes, not wanting to see Harry writhe in pain.

"Wait!"

My eyes flew open at the sound of Hermione's voice.

"Alright," she swallowed, looking at the ground. "I'll tell you where it is. Dumbledore's secret weapon."

"Very well, then," said Umbridge excitedly, gesturing for Hermione to be freed. "Lead the way."

Hermione cleared her throat. "We should bring Harry with us, he knows some of the way."

After a few minutes of debating, Umbridge reluctantly untied the roped form Harry and the three of them left the room. I immediately knew why Hermione had asked for Harry to go with her; it was because he had a level-head. He was good at staying calm in dangerous situations, even if it concerned his godfather. She didn't allow me to be freed because she knew I'd be too hot-headed and probably ruin the whole thing by panicking about my father.

I shared a glance with Ron and jerked my head towards the door, trying to tell him that we needed to leave. He nodded slowly, and I was glad that the Inquisitorial Squad were too busy talking to notice.

"I'm hungry," said Ron loudly.

All talk stopped, and I saw Ginny and Neville shoot him incredulous looks. I hid a smile. I could clearly see the mischief in his eyes. Luna was just staring at him, blankly.

"I'm not getting food for you, Weasel," spat Draco.

"You don't have to," growled Ron in response. I've got some sweets in my pocket... if I could just—"

"Sweets, you say?" smirked Draco. "Well, you won't be needing those anymore. Crabbe! Goyle!"

Crabbe and Goyle grabbed the sweets that Draco had thrown at them from Ron's pocket. I tried to hide my disgust as I heard Crabbe chomping loudly behind me.

Three...

Two...

One...

I grinned as Crabbe and Goyle let out loud yelps. Their faces turned green and they let go of us, keeling over as they vomited on the floor. Ron and I used the advantage to wrestle our wands from their pockets. Ron fired stunners at Draco and Theodore Nott, while I used Petrificus Totalus on Millicent Bullstrode and Pansy Parkinson.

The Slytherins fell to the ground, and Ron and I proceeded to free Ginny, Neville and Luna. We all gave each other a smile before sprinting out of Umbridge's Office.

"Bella! Rosie! Rosie!" cried a melodic voice.

Alice ran toward me, dry sobbing. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see anything until it was too late and the Slytherins got you—"

"Don't worry," I said impatiently. "Look, Alice, I really need to go."

Alice didn't respond. Instead, her eyes glazed over and her body went rigid. I sighed in frustration. I didn't have time for this. Leaving Alice standing motionlessly in the corridor, I gestured for the others to follow me and we ran out of the castle, meeting Harry and Hermione there.

"There you are!" cried Hermione. "How did you get away?"

"Ron's idea," I said, grinning. "It was bloody brilliant. Puking Pastilles."

"I told them I was hungry, so then they ate the lot for themselves," Ron shrugged.

"That's brilliant," said Hermione, sounding surprised.

"Yes, it is," Harry quickly agreed. "But now we need to figure out how to get to London."

"Yeah," Neville mused. "How are we going to get there?"

Harry looked uncomfortable. "Look, Neville, I appreciate all that you guys have done for us, but I've gotten you into enough trouble already."

"We're Dumbledore's Army," said Neville firmly, looking determined. "We're with you and Rosie the whole way."

I gave him, Ginny and Luna supportive smiles.

"So how are we getting there?" asked Harry, again.

"We fly, of course," said Luna with a smile.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Alice Cullen sprinted at vampire speed to the Hospital Wing, tears gathering in her butterscotch eyes that would never fall. If her heart had been beating, it surely would have been racing at an incredible speed.

"Carlisle! Esme!" she cried as she reached her destination.

She was glad that the remaining family had gathered in the Hospital Wing. She really didn't have time to search for them. Jasper flitted to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder. She sent him a grateful yet watery smile.

"What is it, Alice?" asked Carlisle, concerned.

Alice choked back a sob at the reminder of why she was there.

"I just had a vision..." she said, her throat tightening. "It's Voldemort. He sent Harry and Be– _Rosie _a fake vision of Rosie's father being tortured." She sucked in a sharp breath. "They've gone to the Department of Mysteries now, to go and save him. But the Death Eaters are there!" Her voice was borderline hysteric. "I had a vision of it just as Rosie was leaving, but she was gone before I could stop her!"

"She's gone there right now?" asked Esme, her hand flying to her mouth.

Alice nodded urgently. "We have to help her!" she cried. "I don't care if she's not with Edward anymore, she's still our family!"

"Of course she is," said Carlisle calmly. It had always fascinated Alice how calm Carlisle could be in situations such as this.

"I will inform Madam Pomfrey," said Esme, getting up in one fluid movement, Carlisle following her. "She should know that she won't be getting help from Carlisle in the next few hours."

"What about your Muggle Studies class?" asked Rosalie.

"I haven't got a class until tomorrow afternoon."

Jasper bent down so he could whisper in Alice's ear. "Are you okay, darlin'?"

Alice sniffled. "I'll be fine once I know Rosie is fine."

"So we're fighting?" asked Emmett, looking torn between concern for Rosie and excitement for violence.

"Yes," replied Jasper in an even tone. "You know, this kind of reminds me of the vampire wars in the South. Everyone's emotions are the same as they were back then. Defeat... anxiety... pain... fear..." His voice trailed off. Alice squeezed his hand in comfort.

"What else have you seen, Alice?" asked Rosalie quietly.

Alice shook her head. "The last vision I had was of Rosie and her friends arriving at the Department of Mysteries, and the Death Eaters waiting in the shadows."

Carlisle and Esme re-entered the room, their faces tired.

"Shall we get going then?"

...

I gripped onto the Thestral I was riding, my face pale with worry for my father and fear that I was high in the sky on nothing but a bony animal. In my opinion, brooms were much more reliable. I looked to my left and saw Luna lounging on her Thestral, looking perfectly calm. I wish I had her confidence. Neville looked just as terrified as I did, gripping onto the bony neck and squeezing his eyes shut every few seconds so he can't see what height we were at.

Harry was looking determined, glancing back at us now and then to see if we were okay. I shook my head. He shouldn't be worried about us. He had enough on his mind. I wanted nothing more than to reach over and grab his hand in comfort. We were in the same position, once again. I didn't want to lose my father, and he didn't want to lose his godfather.

I would have done so if I wasn't afraid of falling off my Thestral.

"We're here!" announced Luna in her dreamy voice. Ginny flew beside her looking pale. I shot her a weak smile of encouragement.

Our Thestrals swooped down in the warm London air, and I was thankful that it was dark. Imagine what the Muggles would be like if they saw teenagers swooping down from the air not sitting or riding on anything. Of course, the Thestrals were invisible to them.

We led the Thestrals beside the telephone box and petted them in thanks, while they snorted and huffed. One by one, we entered the telephone box which took you to the Ministry of Magic.

Harry typed in 62442, remembering the time when Mr Weasley did it for us at the Hearing.

"Hello, this is the Ministry of Magic," said a cool female voice. "Please state your name and the reason you are entering."

Harry looked dumbfounded, so I squeezed next to him and spoke.

"Er... this is Rosie Black, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood. We are here to rescue my dad from Voldemort."

Badges suddenly flew out from the little metal dent where your Muggle change was supposed to come out. I picked one up and handed the rest to everyone else.

_Rosie Black_

_Rescue Mission_

"Nice," said Ron, sounding surprised and inspecting his own badge. We all pinned them to our chests while the telephone box turned into an elevator and took us underground.

Once we were in the Ministry of Magic, Harry leaned closer to the speaker and said "Department of Mysteries" in a clear voice. The elevator did as we asked, and we were soon stumbling into the tiny box while grabbing the holders so we didn't fall over each other. After a solid five minutes of moving, the elevator stopped, and the cool female voice said, "Department of Mysteries."

"We're here," Ron whispered. I fought the urge to say 'No shit, Sherlock.'

Just as we stepped out, I noticed a guard standing by the door leading to what I assumed was the room where my dad was being held. Not even hesitating, I lifted my wand and whispered "Stupefy", making the guard fall flat on his face unconscious.

Harry led the way to the door, and as soon as we opened it I felt a chill run down my spine. I was here with my friends to save my dad from Voldemort himself, so of course I would feel hesitant.

But why did I feel as though this was all a huge mistake?


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

I don't really know what I expected as we entered the room, but it certainly wasn't this.

The room was dark, and so very cold. Eerily quiet, too. There were extraordinarily high shelves all around me, holding thousands of glowing, white orbs. I immediately identified them as Prophecies. Perhaps taking Divination in third year was beneficial after all.

"Light up your wands," muttered Harry. I could barely see him. The only way I saw his face was from the glow of the Prophecies highlighting his features.

"Lumos," everyone murmured in unison. I didn't quite know why we were whispering, as far as we could see there was no one with us. I couldn't hear the painful screams from my dad or the high, cold laugh of Voldemort as I expected. But there was just something creepy about this room that made us all subdued.

Harry and I led the others as we slowly walked down the dark isles in between the shelves of Prophecies. We had our wands held in front of us, ready to fight, even though there was no one else around. I shuddered. Something about this room just screamed 'dangerous.' And imagine how important this room is... I looked at the Prophecies in awe. If this room gave everything away about the future, then no wonder Unspeakables were so tight-lipped.

"Harry, Rosie," came Neville's voice. Harry and I immediately stopped, our heads swivelled towards the Gryffindor. Neville was currently inspecting a Prophecy, his expression baffled.

"What is it?" I whispered. My voice seemed to echo around the room.

"It's got your name on it."

Harry and I immediately walked towards the shelf, reaching out our fingers to touch it. My eyes widened when I read what was on the tag attached to it.

_S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D_

_Dark Lord_

_and (?) Harry Potter and Rosie Black_

I looked at it, dumbfounded. Harry reached out and touched it, making it glow even brighter. He picked it up from the shelf and held it, looking at it curiously. He seemed entranced. However, I was a bit more perceptive.

Death Eaters appeared noiselessly, looming out of the shadows wearing bone white masks and dark robes. They held up their wands threateningly, making all of us apart form Harry point our wands at them in defence.

"Harry," I said urgently. He didn't even seem to realise that the Death Eaters were here.

He shook his head and turned his attention away from the orb, raising his wand and inspecting each masked Death Eater.

"Where's my dad?" I burst out, not being able to wait any longer.

My blood ran cold when I heard a familiar, crazed cackle. She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, and she was not wearing a mask. Her wild, curly black hair fanned around her pale, gaunt face like electricity. Her teeth were rotten from Azkaban, and she seemed to have lost her good-looks. She still had the same heavy-lidded dark eyes, except there was now a glint of madness and insanity in them. I shivered, knowing that if she never went to Azkaban, I would have looked almost identical to her other than my hair and eye colour.

"Ickle, baby Rosieeee," she cooed in her terrible babyish voice.

"Bellatrix," I almost snarled. I raised my wand an inch higher.

"You know, you really should learn the difference between dreams... and reality," drawled a cold voice. A masked Death Eater stepped forward, and I knew who he was even before he removed his mask revealing the long, platinum blond hair and grey eyes.

Lucius Malfoy continued. "You saw only what the Dark Lord wanted you to see." He turned his attention away from me and looked at Harry. "Now, give me the prophecy."

"If you do anything, I'll break it," threatened Harry.

"Ooooh," laughed Bellatrix. "He knows how to play! Itty, bitty, baby... Potter!"

Her dark, insane eyes swept over each and every one if us, and when they landed on Neville she grinned.

"Bellatrix Lestrange," spat Neville hatefully.

"Neville Longbottom, is it?" she asked. She leaned forward and said mockingly, "How's mum and dad?"

"Better, now they're about to be avenged," he growled, lurching forward with his wand. Ron grabbed him just in time.

"Now, let's all calm down," said Lucius Malfoy, putting his hands up in the air.

Harry ignored him. "Why did Voldemort need Rosie and I to get this?"

"You dare speak his name!" she hissed furiously. "You dare besmirch his name with your dirty mouth?" She shrieked the next words. "You filthy half-blood!"

My eyes hardened. "Watch who you're calling a filthy half-blood, _cousin. _After all... Voldemort is a half-blood too."

"Liar!" she screamed. "You lying, filthy blood-traitor! You lie! How dare you!"

"Calm down," hissed Lucius at Bellatrix. He turned to Harry and I. "Prophecies can only be retrieved by those about whom they are made. Haven't you always wondered about the connection you two share with the Dark Lord? Why he was unable to kill you just when you were infants? Don't you want to know the secret of your scars? All the answers are there... in Potter's hand... all you have to do is give it to me, and I can show you everything..."

There was a tense moment as Harry looked at the prophecy and back to Lucius again. I must admit, a part of me was most definitely curious, but the only downside is that if we knew, then Voldemort would know as well.

"Rosie and I have waited fourteen years," said Harry.

"I know," sighed Lucius with fake pity.

"I guess I can wait a little longer," said Harry. "Now!"

We all threw stunners at the Death Eaters, the dark room getting lighter with spells being thrown back and forth.

The battle had begun.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Blood pounded in my ears and adrenaline coursed through my body as I ran between shelves, dodging and ducking from numerous spells. There were shrieks as a few people were hexed or cursed, but I didn't pay attention. I was focused on my fight only. I was determined to take down Bellatrix, hating her entire existence. Hating her for being related to me. Hating her for making my father's life horrible as a child. Hating her for working for the madman who was trying to kill me.

I kept my eyes focused on her back, my legs burning with desire to stop, my arm aching from deflecting spells and shooting my own.

I gasped as a spell whizzed right past my ear from behind me. I allowed myself to look behind and saw a Death Eater straight on my tail, his face twisted in fury as I shot a curse of my own. I recognised him instantly now that he had his mask off. It was Rodolphus Lestrange, my _lovely cousin's _husband.

I shot another hex which struck him right in his face, and he flew back, crashing into a shelf full of prophecies. I cursed loudly as the glass orbs began to fall around me. The only good thing was that it also prevented the Death Eaters from getting to me.

Hermione, who was running down the aisle beside mine, apparently thought it was a good idea as she sent a Stupefy to her shelf. The prophecies collapsed and fell on top of a Death Eater who had just sent a familiar looking green curse at her. My heart jumped in my throat. I hadn't even thought of the possibilities that they might Avada Kedavra some of us. I knew they wouldn't harm Harry and I on Voldemort's orders, and knowing that the Death Eater had almost killed Hermione made me feel a mixture of fury and fear.

The prophecies and shelves were all collapsing now. I screamed in surprise as a large piece of glass fell hard onto my shoulder, and I heard my fellow classmates yell in terror as the shelves were closing in on them.

That's when I saw the door.

"Harry! The door!" I screamed at him.

He nodded urgently from where he was running a few aisles away. He sprinted in front of all of us, reaching for the large black door that none of us knew where it lead. Hermione ran beside me and grabbed my hand just as Harry flew open the door.

We all screamed in horror as we fell. The door lead to nowhere. We were all airborne, Hermione still clutching my hand, when she reached for her wand and shrieked a spell which caused us to fall softly onto the hard floor.

"Bloody brilliant, Hermione," I panted, getting up from the floor. We would have all had broken necks right now if it wasn't for her.

Once I was up I took the opportunity to look around the room. It was dark and cold like the previous room, with marble flooring and plain black walls. But it wasn't the walls or flooring that caught my attention.

It was the stone archway.

It was eerily beautiful, despite its simplicity. All it was, was a stone arch with runes along it. But in the arch, I could see a thin veil. It was almost invisible, but if you looked at it closely you could see some sort of rippling as though water was in the air. And the voices. There were voice coming from the arch. And judging by the way Harry was staring at it made me know that he could hear them as well.

"Can you hear that?" asked Harry.

"Hear what?" asked Hermione, walking up beside him and trying to look where he was looking.

Harry pointed to the arch. "There's voices coming from there."

"I can hear them too," said Luna dreamily.

"Same," I added.

Ron frowned. "I can't hear anything. Can you, Neville?"

"Nope," the boy in question replied.

"Why can I—"

Harry's question was cut off as we were all thrown to the ground as Death Eaters swarmed over us. I threw my hands protectively in front of my face, trying to shield myself from the Death Eaters whizzing past me and nearly hitting me. Suddenly, I felt a strong hand around my bicep yanking me from the ground and pulling me to a hard chest. The person's hand flew over my mouth to muffle my scream.

I looked around in horror as each of my friends minus Harry were being held by a Death Eater, their captor's wands at their throats or heads. I tried to struggle as did everyone else, but the man holding me was too strong. I turned my head and growled when I saw Rodolphus Lestrange. Honestly, the man had it in for me. Probably because I was trying to kill his wife. He let his hand go from around my mouth and I hissed at him.

"Did you actually believe..." started Lucius, walking up to Harry, "... or were you truly naive enough to think that _children _stood a chance against us?"

Lucius' grey eyes swept over every one of us, before turning back to Harry, who was standing in the middle of the room while clutching the prophecy and looking pale.

"I'll make this easy for you, Potter," he said. "Give me the prophecy now... or watch your friends die. Apart from Black. But I suppose we could just torture her and hand her over to the Dark Lord."

Harry's agonizing green eyes met everyone else's, and when he looked at me I took my chance.

"Don't give it to him, Harry!" I shrieked. "Don't—"

"Shut up," hissed Rodolphus, his hand going over my mouth and his wand jabbing even further into my neck.

I watched in defeat as Harry outstretched his hand to give Lucius the prophecy. Lucius grabbed it and held it above him, looking triumphant and smug.

Until the Order of the Phoenix came.

My father suddenly appeared in front of Rodolphus and I, looking absolutely furious.

"Get your filthy hands off my daughter," he snarled, before bringing his fist back an punching Lestrange right in the face.

Rodolphus let go of me in shock, and I took the opportunity to grab my wand off him. My dad looked at me with nothing but relief all over his features. He gave me a huge hug.

"Thank Merlin you're okay," he breathed.

"How did you get here?" I asked quickly.

"The Cullens," he smiled, before turning serious. "Now, I need you to go—"

"No!" I said stubbornly. "I want to fight!"

"Rosie, love, please..."

"No. No way. I'm staying."

He was forced to drop the conversation when a Death Eater began to duel with him. I reluctantly left my father to help my friends; after all, my dad could hold his own. I tracked down Bellatrix and shot a hex at her, making her spin around with a psychotic grin on her face.

"Rosie! Cousin!" she squealed. "I was wondering when I could duel with you!" She cackled before flinging a curse my way.

Curses and dangerous hexes were being thrown back and forth, and there were a few times when I had to dodge because she shot a dark spell I didn't recognise. There was a good chance that I couldn't deflect it or shield myself, and I didn't want to take that chance.

It seemed as though the rest of the room disappeared. I didn't hear the battle cries of my friends or the swearing and yells from the Death Eaters. It was as though it was only Bellatrix and I in the room, although there were a few times when she quickly shot a spell at someone else while we were duelling.

The duel got even more intense, and Bellatrix even shot a few Crucios and deadly spells my way. But I didn't give up. A flash of white next to me let me know that the Cullens were here, and it was hard for me to imagine someone like Carlisle or Esme or Alice fighting.

I shot a quick stunner at Bellatrix, who didn't expect it and stumbled a bit. I took the opportunity of her distraction to see how everyone else was doing. My eyes widened when I saw the prophecy flying in the air before smashing to the ground a few inches away from where Lucius' hands were. It seemed as though he had dived and tried to catch it. I didn't quite know how to feel as I saw the orb smashing to thousands of pieces. On one hand I was relieved, after all, Voldemort couldn't hear it anymore. But on the other hand I was disappointed. I really wanted to know more about my connection and scar.

I blinked when Bellatrix recovered and shot a purple spell at me. I paled when I recognised it. It was a dark spell, and it was designed to suck a lot of magic out of someone, rendering them weak and almost a Squib.

I reflected it just in time which seemed to make her furious. So, she decided to distract me.

"How does it feel, cousin?" she cackled. "Knowing that all your lickle baby friends are going to die?"

I clenched my jaw and fought even harder.

"Didn't you like that boy... oh, what was his name? Oh yes, Edward. Did he leave you, cousin? Did the filthy half-breed leave you?"

My eye twitched in rage, but I refused to give her the satisfaction.

Bellatrix looked to the right to where my dad was duelling Lucius Malfoy. A satanic grin curled at her lips.

"I know exactly what will hurt you, Rosie Petal."

"Don't call me that!" I roared. Only my father called me that.

I watched in terror as she began to duel my father, knowing that he was my weakness. I threw a spell at her but she blocked it and sent another dark curse at my dad. He seemed to be doing pretty well, and he got cocky.

"Come on, Bella!" my dad laughed. "Surely you can do better than that!"

Bellatrix bared her teeth and yelled, "Avada Kedavra!"

"No!" I screamed in agony, watching as it smashed my father in the chest; his eyes glazed over as he fell backwards into the veil.

The blood rushed in my ears, and it was as though time slowed down. He was gone. Gone.

My daddy was gone.

**Author's Note - I'm so sorry! I know a lot of you didn't want Sirius to die, but it had to be done. It just fit in with the story.**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"No! No! No!"

Those screams of pain and denial left my lips repeatedly as I stared at the archway in which my father had just disappeared into. My eyes were wide with horror, and my face felt cold; I knew I was extremely pale right now.

The room, which was in slow-motion as my father disappeared, suddenly came rushing at normal speed once again. And as soon as the grief left me, there was rage.

I took off running, ignoring the yells coming from behind me. A few Order members tried grabbing me, but I swiftly dodged their hands and kept on running. I knew the Cullens could've easily caught me by now, but as I saw the resolve and sadness on their beautiful faces, I knew that they knew I needed this. I needed closure. So they let me go.

The hard footfalls behind indicated that Harry was following. I could hear his loud, shuddering breaths and I knew he was in just as much pain as I was. He was grieving for his godfather.

Just as I rounded the corner and into the atrium, I could see her. My father's murderer. Her curly hair flying behind her as she skipped in glee.

"I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black." She laughed again. "You gonna get meeeee? Are you gonna catch meeeee?"

Her mad cackle was cut off when I furiously yelled, "Crucio!"

She tripped and fell to the floor, screaming and writhing in agony. I looked at her in slight confusion. That was the first time I had ever cast the Cruciatus Curse, and I knew that it was hard to do. So why was she in so much pain? My spell couldn't have been that powerful.

It was then I noticed that another jet of light soared towards her. Harry was also Cruciating her. No wonder she was in so much pain. The Cruciatus Curse was fuelled by hatred and passion, and it would only be ten times worse if two people were casting it at the same time. And the rage and grief emitting from Harry and I was enough to make it powerful.

We let up the curse, and Bellatrix rolled over onto her side, panting and heaving. She looked up at us, her black eyes wide with a tiny hint of fear. Her body was still convulsing from the after shocks of the curse.

"I want to kill her," I hissed at Harry, though my voice broke at the end. My face twisted in pain at the reminder of why I wanted to kill her.

"I know," he whispered brokenly. His eyes met mine. "Together?"

I swallowed. "Together."

Bellatrix's eyes went even wider and the fear became more pronounced as we raised our wands, pointing it at her face. Just as we were both about to mutter the incantation, I could feel the presence of someone else right behind us.

"Kill her," the presence hissed. "She killed your father and godfather... she deserves it."

I wasn't even afraid knowing that Voldemort was right behind me. I felt nothing but satisfaction as Bellatrix's expression turned panicked, terrified that her own master just told us to kill her.

Harry and I stayed silent and motionless.

Could I really kill her? I knew she would deserve it; she had killed hundreds, if not thousands of people in the past. One of them being my own father. But could I really sink to her level, and turn into just as much of a murderer as she? Would I feel guilt after seeing the light leave her crazed, dark eyes? Could I live with the fact that I killed my own family member, who shares the same flesh and blood?

No. I didn't think I could.

I lowered my wand, noticing that Harry did the same thing. Bellatrix's fearful expression turned into one of relief and mocking; her lips spread into a wide smirk and a few cackles escaped her.

Voldemort, whom I almost forgot was there, drifted forward until he was standing in front of Harry and I. The adrenaline kicked in once again, as I became aware that death was near. Death was always near for Harry and I when Voldemort was present.

"Expellia—" we shouted in unison, only for Voldemort to wave his hand causing both our wands to fly into his outstretched palm.

He looked at us in disgust at our weakness. There was a hint of disappointment too. Whether it was because we didn't murder Bellatrix or we didn't put up much of fight I didn't know. Perhaps he wished for us to murder Bellatrix because he knew we would wallow in guilt afterwards; or maybe he was hopeful that if we murdered her we would turn Dark, thus joining him.

He said nothing. He regarded us curiously as he raised his wand, probably wondering if we would fight back or not. My shoulder slumped and my wand dangled from my fingers.

I didn't want to give up, but I was just so tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of living. I didn't want to fight anymore. I had lost everything. My eyes drooped in defeat, still shining with tears.

Voldemort seemed slightly gleeful that had the chance to finally kill us – or me, at least.

"Avada Ked—" The curse died from Voldemort's lipless mouth, and it twisted into a sneer as he looked behind us.

"Dumbledore," he whispered, enraged and hateful.

I didn't know whether to feel relief or annoyance as he arrived. I could tell that Harry was relieved, but I didn't know. A selfish part of me just wanted Voldemort to kill me to get it over with. After all, the Killing Curse was quick. Easy. I wouldn't feel a thing. What a peaceful way to go.

But I couldn't. Because then I would leave Harry in this mess all alone. And I couldn't do that to him.

"It was foolish of you to come tonight, Tom," said Dumbledore, looking perfectly at ease. "The Aurors are on their way."

Voldemort raised his wand. "By which time I shall be gone; and you, dead."

Dumbledore waved his wand sharply, and a high-pitched scream erupted from Bellatrix as a statue flew towards her, pinning her to the ground. She struggled violently, begging Voldemort to help her, but he did nothing. He didn't spare a glance at his best lieutenant, instead focusing all his attention on Dumbledore.

Harry and I dived to the side as both men began to duel furiously. Spells and curses of red, yellow, blue, green, and gold emitted from both of their wands, lighting up the entire atrium.

I screamed as all the windows in the room smashed, and I raised my hands over my face before any of the sharp shards could embed themselves into my skin. I squeezed my eyes shut, making the tears in my eyes fall freely down my cheeks. I tried to block out the smashing and yelling from curses being flown all over the place; it was making my head hurt.

I only lifted my head when silence fell. I looked around, confused when I couldn't see any sign of Voldemort. Harry pulled me to my feet, and we instantly looked at Dumbledore who looked positively exhausted. Other than the fatigue, he looked okay.

I turned my head sharply when Harry gave a grunt of pain, his head twisted in an awkward angle. A startled gasp escaped me when he fell to the floor, his expression twisted in agony.

"Dumbledore," I said, my voice shaking. I kneeled on the floor next to Harry. "What's happening to him?"

Dumbledore crouched down beside us, his wrinkled hand reaching out towards Harry, who was still convulsing.

I jumped when Harry let out a scream and wail of pain, a few sobs leaving his lips as his back arched from he floor. I felt my eyes once again fill with tears in seeing my best friend in so much. I knew what was happening, even without Dumbledore explaining to me. Harry was being possessed by Voldemort, and the only reason I wasn't being targeted was because of my Occlumency.

I wish I hadn't studied it. Maybe then I could ask Voldemort to get in my head instead, to take some pain away from Harry.

"Kill me," begged Harry, his green eyes glowing as he looked up at me.

His eyes suddenly turned to Dumbledore. "You've lost, old man."

"Harry," I sobbed. "Harry, this isn't you. Please, please get him out!"

"Harry," said Dumbledore, trying to contact Harry through Voldemort. "It's not how you are alike – it's how you are not."

Harry's eyes cleared a bit, and he was staring at something that was behind me. I turned to see Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna all standing there, unsure of what was going on.

"No," grunted Harry, looking at the faces of his friends. His eyes flickered to me. "You're the weak one. You'll never know love... or friendship... and I feel sorry for you."

His back arched, and he rolled over in pain in one last attempt. Darkness surged out of him, until it materialised into Voldemort.

"You're a fool Harry Potter." His red eyes flickered to me, taking notice of the tears on my cheeks. "As are you, Rosie Black. And you two will lose... everything."

There were shouts and yells as Ministry workers arrived through the fireplaces, their expression horrified and shocked as they took sight of Voldemort.

Voldemort glanced up at them before giving Harry and I one last sneer and disappearing.

"He... he's back," said Fudge, stunned.

"You don't say," I spat, grabbing Harry's arm carefully and bringing him up.

Dumbledore stared at the Minister of Magic, before saying, "You will give the order to remove Dolores Umbridge from Hogwarts. You will tell your Aurors to stop searching for my Care of Magical Creatures professor, so that he may return to work. I will give you... half an hour of my time tonight, in which I think shall be enough time to cover the important things that had happened here. After that, I shall need to return to my school. If you need more help from me, you are more than welcome to contact me at Hogwarts. Letters addressed to the Headmaster will find me."

For the next half an hour, I sat down next to Harry while being fussed over by Healers as Dumbledore retold everything that had happened to the Minister. I squeezed Harry's hand in comfort, quite surprised at myself for not crying. Maybe I've run out of tears. Or maybe I just couldn't feel anymore.

I was torn away from my thoughts when Dumbledore touched my shoulder, handing over a Portkey.

"It will take you to Hogwarts," he said quietly.

I numbly reached out and held onto it, vaguely aware of the room spinning before we landed in Dumbledore's office. As I stood in the circular room, I still couldn't allow myself to feel a thing. I had turned emotionless.

And I couldn't tell if that was a bad thing or not.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Harry and I quietly sat in the two chairs facing Dumbledore's desk. I looked down at my hands, my face expressionless as I heard Dumbledore sit down in his seat opposite us. I looked up as I heard the old man sigh loudly, and he pulled a wrinkled, withered hand down his face in exhaustion.

It made me feel angry.

Why was Dumbledore looking so defeated? He wasn't the one who just had to witness his own father get killed by his other blood relative. He wasn't the one who had to spend every day knowing that he had to defeat Voldemort; knowing that the entire wizarding world's fate was on his shoulders.

I didn't push down my anger. I let in consume me, but not control me. I sat there, staring at Dumbledore's tired face blankly. I knew that the anger was swirling in my eyes, and I didn't bother trying to hide it.

"I'm sorry."

Those words made me break. A loud, ripping sob burst from my chest, seeming to echo around the circular room. The portraits on the walls were looking at me curiously. I could see my ancestor, Phineas Nigellus Black, staring at Dumbledore.

"Is it true?" he asked, his grey eyes flickering from me to Dumbledore. "Is Sirius Black, the last male of the Black line, dead?"

"I'm afraid so," said Dumbledore quietly.

I could feel Harry shake next to me. Phineas let out a mournful moan and shook his head, disappearing from his portrait. I assumed he was going to Grimmauld Place to see for himself.

"I know how you feel, Harry, Rosie," said Dumbledore.

I stood up quickly, the chair falling to the floor with a loud bang behind me. I raised a shaking, accusing finger at Dumbledore and shook my head. The anger inside me was no longer consuming me; it was now controlling me.

"D-don't you dare," I said shakily, trying to hold back my sob as tears fell down my cheeks.

"Rosie..."

"No!" I screamed, slamming my hand on his desk. Dumbledore didn't flinch. He merely looked at me with pity and understanding. The last expression was making me furious. He didn't understand. Not one bit.

"How dare you!" I screamed at him, not even caring that it was actually my Headmaster I was yelling at. I didn't care if I got expelled.

"Don't pretend you know how this feels!" I shrieked, sobbing even louder. "You have no idea! No bloody idea! So just s-s-stop looking at me like that – stop looking at me l-like you know what I'm going through!"

I backed away from his desk, my head shaking as I held it in my tear-soaked hands. I leant against the wall by the door, and I slid down it, bordering on hysterical. I was pretty sure I would regret this later, but for the moment, I didn't care.

"No, you don't know how we feel," said Harry flatly, still sitting calmly in his chair though his shoulders shook. "It's my fault."

"No, the fault is mine," said Dumbledore quietly. "Sirius was a brave, clever and energetic man, and such men are not usually content to sit at home in hiding while they believe others to be in danger." Dumbledore sighed. "I knew it was only a matter of time before Voldemort made the connection between you two. I thought by distancing myself from you both, as I have done all year, he'd be less tempted, and therefore you might be more protected."

I said nothing. I tried to listen to Dumbledore's and Harry's conversations over my own sobs.

"The prophecy smashed before we could get it," said Harry dully. His shoulders slumped. "Now we don't know what it said."

Dumbledore shook his head. "The thing that smashed was merely a record of the prophecy kept by the Department of Mysteries. But the prophecy was made to somebody, and that person has the means of recalling it perfectly."

"Who heard it?" asked Harry shakily.

"I did. On a cold, wet night sixteen years ago, in a room above the bar at the Hog's Head Inn. I had gone there to see an applicant for the post of Divination teacher, though it was against my inclination to allow the subject of Divination to continue at all. The applicant, however, was the great-great-granddaughter of a very famous, very gifted Seer, and I thought it common politeness to meet her. I was disappointed. It seemed to me that she had not a trace of the gift herself. I told her, courteously I hope, that I did not think she would be suitable for the post. I turned to leave."

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Just as I turned to leave, she said the prophecy. The prophecy spoke of a boy and girl born in the closing days of July, that their parents defied Voldemort three times and lived to tell about it, and that the boy and girl would have the power that Voldemort was unable or unwilling to comprehend. Voldemort knew the prophecy had been made, but not of its full contents."

Dumbledore looked at us both to see if we were listening intently. Which we were. My sobs had stopped, although I still had tears streaming down my face. Dumbledore was satisfied with our concentration so he continued.

"He set out to kill you both when you were still infants, believing he was fulfilling the terms of the prophecy – he went to Harry first, believing he was more of a threat."

_How sexist, _I thought numbly, before once again giving him my undivided attention.

"Of course, he must have been delighted to see that you were together in the same crib... he probably believed he was killing two birds with one stone. But he discovered, to his cost, that he was mistaken, when the curse intended to kill you both backfired. And so, since his return to his body, and particularly since your extraordinary escape form him last year, he has been determined to hear that prophecy in its entirety. This is the weapon he has been seeking so assiduously since his return: the knowledge of how to destroy you."

I couldn't even think properly. All the new information was swirling around in my brain, each thought never sticking long enough for me to comprehend. My tear-stained cheeks felt pale, and I felt slightly nauseous. But why didn't Dumbledore tell us as soon as he realised Voldemort was going after the prophecy?

"Why didn't you tell us?" I asked from my position on the floor, my voice hoarse from screaming and crying.

"Because I wanted you to have the chance at a normal life," he replied.

My breath caught in my throat. What is it with the 'normal life'? First Edward had said it... and now Dumbledore. Why didn't people ever ask me what I thought of my life exactly how it was?

"I wanted you and Harry to be able to grow up as normal teenagers... not having to worry about a prophecy saying that you both had to kill him. And I'm sorry. I apologise profusely, for I see that now it was all a huge mistake."

I sniffled a bit, feeling dread creep up in my stomach.

"So it's definite, then?" said Harry, the tears finally falling from his green eyes and down his face. "Rosie and I have to defeat him, no one else?"

Dumbledore closed his eyes, the normally ever-present twinkle disappearing. He opened them again, and looked at us with so much sadness and defeat that I felt awful for shouting at him earlier.

"...Yes," he finally replied.

Harry closed his eyes as if in physical pain, and I had to swallow numerous times to stop the bile from rising up my throat.

"I see," said Harry, his voice shaking and his lower lip quivering. "Can we go now?"

He didn't even wait for an answer. He walked over to me and helped me to my feet, before pulling me into a much needed hug. We both cried with each other in grief knowing that my father was dead, and terrifying fear knowing that we were, indeed, the only ones who could ever defeat Voldemort. Knowing that we probably weren't going to survive while trying to do so.

He took my hand and led me out of the room, but before I walked to the door I looked behind me at Dumbledore one more time.

My stomach dropped.

For Dumbledore let one tear fall from his eyes and into his silvery beard.

**Author's Note - Only one more chapter left! I can't believe it! I don't know whether to be happy or cry.**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

I slipped out of Gryffindor Tower quietly, the only sound was my light footsteps against the cold stone floor.

It was the last day of term – the last day of my fifth year. At least my OWL's were finally over with. Though I didn't think there was any point in me taking them at all. After all, just a week ago I had discovered that it was Harry and I who had to kill Voldemort. And I didn't think I would live to see the next two or three years so I wouldn't worry about my NEWT's or what job I would get.

Everyone was currently boarding the boats to get to the Hogwarts Express in Hogsmeade, and I was the last to leave the tower. I wanted to put off leaving as much as possible as I would be going home to an empty building. Grimmauld Place. I hated the fact that I had to live there, knowing that it would be silent due to the absence of my dad's barking laughter.

I was lost in my musings, and just as I rounded the corner I bumped into a cold wall.

The cold wall was Alice Cullen.

"Hey," she said, her musical voice hesitant.

I looked up at her, my eyes dead just as they have been for the past week. "Hey," I said in a deadpan tone.

She bit her lip. "I'm sorry about your father. I didn't see him dying. The spells were just flying too quickly—"

"I know," I said tiredly, pushing a curly lock behind my ear. "It would be almost impossible for you to foresee the outcome of a duel. They're too fast. I know that. I don't blame you."

My eyes flickered behind her, noticing for the first time that all the Cullens were present. Including a vampire whom I have not seen before. She was gorgeous of course, just as any other vampire. She had straight light brown hair falling to her shoulders, and had a full fringe. She was petite; shorter than me. She was about 5"3, and the fact that Edward was next to her made her seem even smaller. Her wide eyes were red, but I could see a tiny hint of amber where she'd obviously recently adopted the animal diet.

"Bella..." Edward said rather nervously. I blinked at him, not even correcting my name.

"This is Mary. She's my mate."

My eyebrows flew up at the revelation, and I was half-expecting myself to feel slightly jealous and bitter. But I didn't. I felt genuine happiness radiate through me for the first time since my dad's passing.

"Congratulations," I said sincerely. The Cullens looked surprised that I took it so well.

Edward nodded. "Thank you." He turned to his mate, and I was shocked to see the utter love and devotion that shown from Edward's eyes as he looked at her. He was clearly besotted.

Mary's wide red eyes looked at me, assessing. I held her gaze, not wanting her to think of me as weak by looking away uncomfortably.

"You must be Bella." Her eyes flickered to Edward before falling on me again. "Or rather, Rosie. I've heard a lot about you."

It didn't take a genius to detect the slight jealousy in her tone, and I didn't blame her. She _was _talking to her soul mate's ex-girlfriend after all.

"Yes," I said, not calling her out on the slight bitterness in her tone. "It's nice to meet you, Mary. I hope you have a happy eternity with Edward."

She hesitated, obviously trying to see if I was being sarcastic or not. She must have seen the sincerity in my eyes because her own softened slightly. She shook my hand and gave me a small smile.

"It's nice to meet you too," she said softly. "The Cullens speak highly of you."

I smiled at the Cullens, although there was still deep sadness in my eyes. It was weird to think of them leaving now. I had gotten used to their presence around the castle in the past few months.

Esme burst into a dry sob and gathered me into her arms, the other Cullens following her lead. When Edward gave me a hug, I whispered into his ear.

"I have forgiven you, you know," I whispered. "For leaving, I mean. And I'm happy that you found Mary." I leaned away from his arms and looked at the rest of the family.

"Thank you," I said quietly, looking at each of their beautiful faces. "I guess this is goodbye, then."

Emmett looked confused and upset. "We're not going to keep in touch?"

I gave them all a sad smile, shaking my head. "We can't. Voldemort has made it quite clear that he's returned, which has just marked the start of a war. I can't be in any contact with either of you if I want you to be safe."

"But their spells don't harm us," said Rosalie. "We'll be fine."

"Dumbledore isn't the only one who's recruited vampires," I said. "Voldemort is known to have an army on his side too. The quicker we break contact, the safer you'll be. And I'm pretty sure that Voldemort has the Volturi on his side as well, and you don't want to mess with them."

They all glanced at each other, knowing I was right. The Volturi were powerful, and if they discovered that the Cullens were playing part in the war more than they already have, they would most definitely be taken care of.

"But—" Alice began to protest, venom tears in her eyes. I raised a hand to stop her.

"No, Alice," I said. "You left me a few months ago for my own safety, right? Well, let me do the same. It's only fair."

They all gave watery smiles. Even Mary was looking emotional despite only knowing me for five minutes.

"I better go," I sighed. "The boats leave in about five minutes." I looked at them one last time, memorising their faces. "Goodbye."

I left before I could look back at them. I didn't want to start crying now. The last time I cried was when I had a breakdown in Dumbledore's office, and I was scared that if I let a tear fall I would subject myself to another emotional meltdown.

I saw the back of Harry's head as he waited for me with the other beside the boat.

"What took you so long?" complained Ron.

"I was talking to the Cullens," I shrugged. Harry's eyes hardened. I knew he still didn't really like them for leaving me, but he was grateful that they came to our aid in the Department of Mysteries.

"Did they say anything?" he asked suspiciously, seeing my slightly devastated expression.

"No," I reassured. "I just had to say goodbye, that's all."

He nodded in acceptance and we all sat down in the boat. I watched the icy water ripple as we went through it, and I dipped my fingers in the lake before retracting them quickly, remembering all too well the scary merpeople from when I swam in it in my fourth year.

Instead, I laid my head on Harry's shoulder which prompted him to lay his on top of mine.

"I'm scared, Harry," I whispered, feeling grateful that Ron and Hermione were too busy arguing to detect the tremor in my voice.

"Me too," he whispered in reply. "But you know what? We're going to get through it. Together. Because that's just what we do."

I laughed teasingly. "Cheesy."

He blushed lightly and poked me in the ribs. "Oh, shut up."

And despite everything that's happened in the past few weeks... the Dementor fiasco, the Hearing, seeing the Cullens, the torture sessions with Umbridge, the newborn army, the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, seeing my own father getting murdered, discovering that Harry and I were the only one who could defeat Voldemort...

I smiled.

**Author's Note - MERLIN'S BEARD! IT'S OVER! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Thank you so so much to my reviewers, even though I haven't read half of them because it's still being weird. Thank you so much to everyone who's favourited and followed this story, and most of all, thank you to everyone who actually bothered to read it in the first place. I love you all3**


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